"Dead is the king of Dembroch as are many of our knights and dames. We, the queen and Civium, call upon the noblest members of the public to aid our kingdom. Join the defenders of Dembroch. Save us."

Brave of heart, young of body, four friends - Nick, Meg, Jenn, and Clay - answer the call for this perilous task. They're named knights and dames of the reserves. Yearning for adventure and danger, they wait with bated breath for days, weeks, and months.

Twenty years later:

Once friends, now strangers, Nick, Meg, Jenn, and Clay - the last of the defenders - are summoned to the kingdom. It's still in need. And what awaits them is more than they could have feared.

The timeless kingdom of Dembroch isn't just a tiny, cute Scottish island reliant on farming and fishing. It's past the Norwegian Sea, shrouded in storm and protected by the bolts of God. Its history is more magical, its current predicament chilling, and its future terribly grim. Only a dozen citizens remain on the crumbling isles. Deep in the woods lies a ravenous, unkillable monster. There is a famine of flames, a witch in waiting, a looming curse. Magic dies, and dead men walk. Clocks don't tell time. Eyes don't see. Invisible doors take you far away. Nick and his friends alone are the last defense to save the kingdom, its people, and its queen.