Thirteen-year-old Fowler Auklet has never been the hero of his story. Stuck in a town that withstands time, with a mother who hides mysterious secrets from him, Fowler feels as if everything is hopeless. One day, he finds her making a shady deal in the back alleyway with a finger cloaked in shadows, and his world turns upside down. Suddenly, his life starts to crumble around him, revealing a twisted world full of treachery and deceit. On the run from his mother, he meets the Copelands, a suburban father-daughter duo with a hidden passion, and Arabelle, a grieving monster hunter chasing the money flow. Together, all pursuing their own goals, they decide to burn down the world. Thrust into the middle of a civil war decades in the making, battling old friends, terrifying creatures, and his own mind, Fowler doesn't know who to trust. When his team shatters, will Fowler be able to save the people he loves most?