Tom Canty is a poor boy in the London slums. His birth only brings more poverty to his already dirt poor family.
They exchange clothes and Edward VI ends up being thrown out of the palace by guards who think he is the poor boy he looks to be. After many adventures, matters are set right again, with one of the boys resuming his rightful, royal position and the other boy accepting a position that recognizes his innate intelligence and good heartedness.The bulk of the books is the mad life of the poor boy during which Edward VI learns how many of his subjects live.