The moon is missing in the remote village of Clear Sky, but only a young boy named Rendi seems to have noticed! Rendi has run away from home and is now working as a chore boy at the village inn. he can't help but notice the village's peculiar inhabitants and their problems-where has the innkeeper's son gone? Why are Master Chao and Widow Yan always arguing? What is the crying sound Rendi keeps hearing? And how can crazy, old Mr. Shan not know whether...

In a Kansas hospital, Princess Dorthea of Emerald struggles to regain her memory of what propelled her out of the land of Story, and how to get home, while Rexi, aided by Excalibur, continues to protect Story from the Wicked Witch.