After Gen steals the stone, the temple is washed away by a river. Agreeing, Gen risks death in a daring attempt to steal the stone from an almost inaccessible temple, while the entire party is pursued by the Guard of Attolia.

In exchange, the magus offers Gen fame and threatens him with a bounty on his head if he tries to escape. The magus' plan is to use the long lost tradition embedded within the stone in order to claim the country of Eddis for his king. The magus reveals that the object he wants Gen to steal is a precious stone called Hamiathes's Gift in the country of Attolia. The travelers are strained by personal conflict, as well as the dangers present due to the political and secret nature of their mission. They are joined by the magus's two apprentices, Sophos and Ambiades, and by a soldier, Pol. Without telling Gen where they are going, he takes him out of the city. The magus, whose name is not revealed, finds Gen to be filthy, uncouth, and insolent, but he values Gen's skills as a thief. Gen had been imprisoned for stealing the King's seal. The main character, a boy named Gen (short for Eugenides), is released from prison by the magus of the King of Sounis. In 2012, The Thief was ranked number 13 among the Top 100 Chapter Books in a survey published by School Library Journal, a monthly with a primarily U.S. It was a runner-up for the 1997 Newbery Medal and a Newbery Honor Book. It is the first in the Queen's Thief series, the sixth book of which was published in 2020. The Thief is a young adult fantasy novel by Megan Whalen Turner published in 1996 by Greenwillow Books, an imprint of William Morrow (later, of HarperCollins).

The queen's thief series