Krabat is a poor beggar boy. One day curiosity lures him to the mill at Koselbruch, about which creepy stories are told. There he meets the eerie master miller who takes Krabat into his service as the twelfth apprentice.
In three years Krabat not only learns the miller's trade, but also the art of the black school. He learns that although magic helps him to gain power and wealth, it also deprives him of his freedom more and more. Krabat has to watch as two of his companions fail to free themselves from the shackles of evil. Krabat realizes that the devil himself is the patron of the mill and that he too is in great danger. Only the unconditional love of a girl can save him from entanglement with evil.
