When Tom Canty is born, he is barely wanted by his own poor family. On the same day, the birth of Prince Edward is celebrated by the entire country. Tom grows up to be a wise boy who fantasizes about the Prince's life. Fate plays a strange trick when they meet unexpectedly and realize that they look exactly alike. Things go terribly awry for both of them when their places get swapped. Suddenly thrust in alien lives, both the protagonists must make their way through dangers of different kinds. What do the two experience, away from all that they had ever known? Are they able to survive the ordeal? Do they manage to find their way back to their families? Twain's classic historical fiction is a delight in every way.