Myra Whitlock has a gift. One many would kill for. She's an artist whose portraits alter people's real-life bodies, a talent she must hide from those who would kidnap, blackmail, and worse in order to control it. Guarding that secret is the only way to keep her younger sister safe now that their parents are gone. But one frigid night, the governor's wife discovers the truth and threatens to expose Myra if she does not complete a special portrait that...

Fourteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon, apprentice to his Uncle Press, a Traveler responsible for solving interdimensional conflict, tries to locate the legendary lost land of Faar which may hold the key to the survival of the water-covered territory of Cloral, which stands on the brink of war.

When the old man who lives in Rourke Castle dies mysteriously, troubletwister twins Jack and Jaide Shield find themselves drawn into a search for something hidden in the castle--something that The Evil wants desperately--but they have no idea what it is they seek.