Theodosia Throckmorton is shocked when she encounters Mr. Tetley at a museum benefit, knowing his appearance can only mean the Serpents of Chaos are back, leaving Theodosia to face secret societies, evil curses, and dark magic.
For twenty-two years, since a fateful baseball game against their rival town, it has rained in Moundville, so when the rain finally stops, twelve-year-old Roy, his friends, and foster brother Sturgis dare to face the curse and form a team.
When fairies steal her brother, thirteen-year-old Rowan Fox promises that in exchange for his return she will find the thirteen charms that the fairies have enchanted and hidden in the human world.
Eleven-year-old Theodosia has the ability to detect black magic and ancient curses that are attached to objects in the Museum of Legends and Antiquities, which her father is the curator of, and discovers that a new artifact from Egypt is cursed and she must return it to the tomb it was excavated from before it destroys the British Empire.
Caught stealing some goose eggs from a witch, Howard is cursed for his heartlessness and turned into a goose himself, and he can only become human again by performing three good deeds.
When she incurs Neptune's wrath by finding a diamond ring buried under rocks in the ocean, Emily is put under a curse that will force her to choose to be either a mermaid or a human and split up her parents forever.