When we last left Henry, his family, Zeke Johnson, Richard,and he, had knocked out Nimiane and shoved her through a cupboard. Henry had also found out that he was adopted and had come from one of the cupboards. Frank had also come from the cupboards, but at a different time than Henry. In this book, Henry burns his hand on a dandelion and goes blind. In his dreams he meets a strange man, Darius, who claims to be a wizard. Darius suggests that Henry is a wizard too. In hopes of making Henry his son, Darius kidnaps both Richard and Henry. Henry is prepared for a strange ritual but it turns out that it was already started or preformed on him. Darius' assisant helps Henry escape and Henry is then taken in by an elderly couple. Somewhere along the line Henry regains his sight.
In the meantime, Henrietta thinks that Richard and Henry have gone to Fitzfaeren without her and 'follows' them. She is captured by two men and brought to their mother and queen, Magdalene (who has magic). Magdalene tells Henrietta that, with the help of Eli (who is also Magdalene's brohter), Henrietta's grandfather stole the Fitzfaeren's artifacts and that that brought about the destruction of their city. Magdalene plans to hold Henrietta hostage in order to regain the artifacts. However, Henrietta escapes and meets up with Eli. Eli tells her that Nimiane is still alive and that she is headed towards the world they are in. As a result everything in the world will die. They set out towards Hyfling but are captured by Caleb, a Prince of Hyfling,and his men. Eli is recognized as a criminal in that city and is held in a bag. Henrietta is treated as a guest. Caleb attempts to return Eli to Magdalene but Magdalene disowns him . Seeing (with her powers) that Henrietta is the neice of Caleb (Frank is Caleb's long lost brother), Magdalene lets Caleb keep her as well. Caleb, Henrietta, Eli, and the men head towards Hyfling. Along the way,Eli escapes but upon recapture. swears fealty to Hyfling.
While this is going on, Darius has brought Richard back to the house and banishes the house and everyone in it (Frank, Dottie, Anastasia, Penelope, Zeke, Richard, and a police officer) to some other world. Darius then goes to join Nimiane. With nothing else to do, the group goes into one of the cupboards in an attempt to find Henry and Henrietta. The cupboard leads them to Hyfling.
Meanwhile, Henry has made his way home, but finding it abandoned with a note saying where the family is headed for, goes to Badon Hill. He is kidnapped by pirates/slavers but escapes with the help of fitzfairies (one of whom is named Fat Frank) and a wizard(Monmouth). At first Henry is held prisoner for releasing Nimiane. Everyone keeps calling him 'Mordecai's son' and talking about how his father has disappeared. Fat Frank and some other fitzfaeren help him escape and go with him to Hyfling.
Two fitzfairies die along the way, but the others get there and Henry's whole family is reunited.
Henry meets his biological mother,sisters, grandmother, cousins, and Uncle (Mordecai is the brother of Caleb and Frank). Mordecai returns and there is a big fight with Darius (who is possessed by Nimiane) and many people (including Eli) die. However, Hyfling emerges victorious and Henry and his family stay in Hyfling.
Okay, while this is very action packed and exciting and does answer some questions, it is also confusing. Everything the reader finds out is from overheard conversations. Henry hears bits and pieces of conversation (Mordecai's his father, Mordecai was betrayed and imprisoned by the council of the Fitzfaeren) and that's all one has to go one. Henry takes it in stride and doesn't ask any questions about it. If I was thrown into a magical world and heard people talking about my past I'd ask them to slow down and explain things. Henry doesn't do this. In the end, it is up to the reader to filter out bits of data. Not only is this an annoying way to gather information, but it also makes Henry seem unrealistic. So while I enjoyed the book because the characters were fun and a lot of cool things were going on, it could have been so much better if the author had slowed down a bit and had one of the characters explain the history and/or background of the world.
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