The story begins with four mysterious men carrying a boy, Marcel, to an orphanage close to Fallside. When he gets there, Lord Alwyn, an evil magician, makes him listen to a book that tells a story. The book is called the book of lies and anything you say that is a lie, will be recorded in it. When the truth is told, it glows golden. Bea, another orphan, secretly places cotton balls into Marcel's ears to help him not hear the story. If he does hear it, then he will forget everything he has ever known and believe that this is his true story. The book told him his name was Robert before his ears were plugged so he believed that. When two men get ahold of Marcel, he leaves the orphanage with Bea, Nicola, and Fergus. However, that is not so easy because Lord Alwyn has placed a ring on his finger that will not come off until he finds the courage to get it off, and if he leaves the orphanage, Termagant will come. Termagant is Lord Alwyn's evil beast that will cause destruction and death. Marcel leaves anyway, eager to find out how his life actually was before he was taken. He finds out he is related to Nicola and Fergus and that they are royalty. Their mission now, is to throw King Pelham out of power because Marcel, Fergus, and Nicola's parents are the rightful king and queen. Do they manage to succede?