Elise is no hero. She would rather balance the castle’s expense accounts than become her country’s champion. But she doesn’t have a choice since her step-mother, a wicked witch, cursed the seven princes of Arcainia, Elise’s foster-brothers, and transformed them into swans. To free her foster-brothers Elise agrees to knit seven shirts made of stinging nettles. She must complete the shirts without uttering a word.

For the sake of safety and secrecy, Elise flees Arcainia and struggles to survive in the wild. Even though she is mute, trails seven wild swans, and knits like a mad-woman, Elise catches the eye of a foreign prince, who drags her back to his family’s castle where she is tormented by the prince’s evil father. With her step-mother hunting her foster-brothers and the foreign king threatening to kill her, Elise’s dedication to her task is sorely tested. But if Elise does not finish the shirts, Arcainia and her foster-brothers will be lost. Can a mathematician be the hero needed to save the day?