The Alchemist, featured on many high school reading lists, centers around a boy named Santiago and his journey. As a shepherd, Santiago is content with life but feels called to follow his Personal Legend, or to fulfill his purpose in life. After a reoccurring dream of Egyptian treasure, the boy sets out on a long treacherous journey.

Along the way he meets a king, a thief, an Englishman, and an alchemist, all who influence his life and journey. In the end, the boy understands the power he has in himself and the importance of doing something you believe in. The treasure ends up leading him back to somewhere he never even thought of, and he learns something he might have known all along.