Somewhere faraway, the universe is in peril. But on Earth, Alan is minding his own business after a boring double-shift at the pawn shop… until he’s assaulted by a screaming archer who turns out to be a good shot. Alan awakes in Strangey Town, a zany nightmarish jungle of ideas run by a horrid deity. Things get even stranger when a clairvoyant frog confirms Alan has an affinity for magic, and that his powers are far from ordinary. He can convene with gods, bargain for souls, and tap into every known magic the universe has to offer. It's unheard of!

The son of a billionaire tech entrepreneur, Logan Specter spends his time—and his family's wealth—on artistic and altruistic pursuits. His indulgences have produced a pile of paintings and a string of failed charities. A rebel without a cause who defies his father's corporatist lifestyle while benefiting from the privileges it affords him, Logan lacks true ambition, unable to commit himself to his own potential. The only things in his life giving him any direction are his girlfriend, Freya, and her unconditional love.

Fen loses everything when his city is sacked by invaders. Orphaned and alone, he forms a strange bond with the city’s new ruler. He starts to carve out a life for himself, only to discover a strange power is awakening within him. The same power that killed his father. Aislin came from the sea, her origins a mystery. Like the sea, she is wild, unpredictable, and powerful. Feared and hated by the other children, she is bullied by them, until the day comes when she turns her power on them. Karliss is in training to become the next wind shaman for his tribe.

The guards say there are no children in the Moonstone Mines, a place walked only by men condemned to slavery and death. An unyielding curse ensures none can depart its dark depths. And yet, a child named Red awakens in the mines with no memory. Haunted by enigmatic dreams, he melds with the slaves, enthralled by tales of the world above. He learns how to cultivate and hunt the deadly monsters that infest the mines, but escape remains an impossibility. Until escape is the only option left.

“Yes, I admit, I should have told him earlier,” lamented Wizard Apprentice Talash as Sentinel Ruben stared at him. “I just don’t know what to do now that the Portcullis has been opened.” What to do. Yes, that was the million-dollar question. Warning the citizens about the hordes of criminals, crazies and creatures flooding into Mokiem from the Land of Outcasts would be the first action; repairing and sealing the Portcullis would be the second; and rescuing Wizard Szczurik from whatever hellish place the changeling had teleported him would be the third.