Balthazar Blake is a master sorcerer in modern-day Manhattan trying to defend the city from his arch-nemesis, Maxim Horvath. He can't do it alone, so he recruits Dave Stutler, a seemingly average guy who demonstrates hidden potential, as his reluctant protege. The sorcerer gives his unwilling apprentice a crash course in the art and science of magic, and together, these unlikely partners work to stop the forces of darkness.