Tiana, a mage stripped of her rank after a false bribery accusation and left broke by gambling, is one of four disillusioned adventurers who find each other in a rundown tavern. The others are Nick, a thief thrown out of his old party for calling out its embezzlement, the defrocked cleric Zem, and the half-dragon Curran, robbed and left for dead in a dungeon by the companions she trusted. Sharing nothing but their distrust of everyone else, the four agree to form a party of their own. This light novel is the original source for the manga.