Clarice Bean tries to glean useful advice from the "Ruby Redfort Survival Handbook" as she deals with several worries, including "largish" spiders, Robert the pest, and, most of all, sudden change.
The Bone cousins, along with Gran'ma Ben and Thorn, struggle to reach the safety of the city of Atheia, on a journey that has become increasingly bleak with the release of the Lord of the Locusts.
While learning to bestow dreams, a young dream giver tries to save an eight-year-old boy from the effects of both his abusive past and the nightmares inflicted on him by the frightening Sinisteeds.
Just before Christmas, when Frances sees a sad-eyed organ-grinder and his monkey performing near her apartment, she cannot stop thinking about them, wondering where they go at night, and wishing she could do something to help.