In sixth century Britain, the Kingdom of Urland is terrorized by the ageing dragon Vermithrax Pejorative. To appease the dragon, the king long ago ordered that twice a year a young virgin girl, chosen by a rigged lottery that protects the daughters of the rich and powerful, be sacrificed to the beast. In order to free themselves of the dragon and the crooked lottery, a group of villagers seek out Ulrich of Cragganmore (Ralph Richardson), one of the last wizards, to slay the monster. But when Ulrich is killed by the king's men before he can depart, his young and inexperienced apprentice, Galen (a miscast Peter MacNicol), takes up his master's task.