Unhappy over what he considers his bad luck, Tooley ignores his cat's warnings and invites a greedy little man into his home in the mistaken hope of improving his fortunes.
Chaos reigns in Marienstat as Duke Conrad of Regia, the king's uncle, plots to overthrow the new government of Westmark and bring an end to the reforms instituted by Mickle, now Queen Augusta, Theo, and their companions.
Princess Eilonwy must leave her friends to go to the Isle of Mona for training as a proper princess, where she learns about magic turned to evil purposes.
In 1876, on the eve of the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, twenty-year-old Vesper Holly and her friends clash yet again with the archfiend Dr. Helvitius, whose evil schemes plunge them into danger in the wild Pennsylvania countryside.
