Sunni and Blaise are dragged once more to Blackhope Tower when a mysterious oil lantern appears. This lantern however, contains painted slides that conceal the secrets of Fausto Corvo's lost paintings. After journeying inside, they discover Corvo's old enemy, Soranzo, who is still seeking both the paintings and passage into the Marineer's Return to Arcadia. Soranzo, however, will stop at nothing to find Corvo. He even proceeds to kidnap Blaise and Sunni's art teacher after going into one of the painted slides.
Within the Blackhope Tower is a magical labyrinth, mysteriously appearing skeletons, and an ancient painting. For centuries, rumors milled around the Mariner's Chamber, which contained the labyrinth and famous painting. Sunni, her friend Blaise, and her stepbrother, Dean, visit the tower for a school project. But when Sunni sees her stepbrother disappear, seemingly inside the painting, she goes in search of him. In the desperate search for her stepbrother, Sunni encounters dangers unlike any other. She comes face-to-face with people who vanished in the painting centuries before.
Vance had lived with the vampires of Midnight ever since he was abandoned as a baby quetzal. He never thought ill of them; he was completely loyal. Never once did he doubt them or even really question why he was 'caged' in his greenhouse. None of it really mattered, he was grateful for them.
Being the son of Frankenstein's Monster and the Bride, Boy can't go out in public. That is, unless he wants to face the wrath of a torch-wielding mob. They all live in an enclave of monsters under Times Square, the humans blissfully unaware of their existence. Boy, however, has only interacted with the outside world through the Internet - not only that, he's a well-known hacking genius. But after one of his viruses go awry, Boy runs away from home and ends up meeting the granddaughters of Jekyll and Hyde, who introduce him to all the human world has to offer.
After Victuals returns home, he discovers that his old body is being inhabited by King Erzatz of the lizardmen, who is willing to sacrifice anything for the sake of immortality - including his own daughter, Princess Cyrene. Victuals discovers that the new body he was given has a time limit, it has already begun to reject his brain, and as his time dwindles, he desperately tries to face the King. But there is an even greater evil that lurks beneath them, threatening their entire underwater world.
Anya learns her aunt, Queen of the Faerie Kingdom of Chroir, will soon die. As a result, she must take up the throne herself as her cousin, Illumina, is unfit to rule. Not only that, the true heir, Prince Zabriel, long ago disappeared into the human realm of Warckum. Determined not to take the throne, Anya sets off on a life-changing journey to find Zabriel and persuade him to reclaim the crown. However, the journey Anya is about to embark on is far more dangerous than she could ever have imagined.
