There were some pretty weird grown-ups living in Bailey City. But could the new librarian who has a long white beard and a magic wand really be Merlin, the great wizard from medieval times?

Last seen in the oversized books section, Turnus the page has disappeared, and now the Librarian must venture into the Shifting Shelves, a maze of constantly moving book shelves created by the evil wizard who once possessed all the treasures of the library; he finds Turnus, but the boy is stuck to a glowing red book, and the Librarian must find a way to break this curse if the two of them are ever to make it back to the Library.

On his thirteenth birthday, foster child Alcatraz Smedry receives a bag of sand which is immediately stolen by the evil Librarians who are trying to take over the world, and Alcatraz is introduced to his grandfather and his own special talent, and told that he must use it to save civilization.