Max and his grandfather live together in an isolated bunker surrounded by trees. Max has been warned never to step outside the bunker. However, one day as Grandad runs a daily errand, the boy leaves his shelter and ventures as far as the lake.
Max, who only knows the world through storybooks, is easily overcome by his imagination. Seeing and interacting with monsters and other characters from Grandad's books, Max immediately revels in the life he finds in the outside world. He doesn't understand why Grandad insists it's dangerous.
In fact, everything Grandad has told him seems like lies when Max spots a futuristic city in the near distance, beyond the trees.
And chess - a game he plays without ever being taught - might be the chariot on which he is destined to reach his true fate. This game of black versus white is a playing field where only kings can win, and queens are disposable despite being the most versatile and strongest. The game may just have to prepare Max for the real world - where pawns are lured by the false promise of kingship if they reach the end of the board.
