When Cormoran, the leader of the giants, brings fifteen years of peace to a murderous end in the magical land of Essmor, the wife of the human king and their infant son, Jack, must go into hiding in the non-magical, dead-end town of Byth. Alone, the one-time queen and the former heir to Essmor's throne live in difficult circumstances and struggle from day to day to make ends meet. Nearly seventeen years later, following a terrible argument one night with his mother, Jack climbs a mysterious beanstalk that sprouts overnight to discover a world he never could have imagined. There, he learns his ancestral land of Essmor is now in ruin, its people in dire need, and how his father, the former king, was murdered. Faced with the possibility of the Giant-King catching him at any moment he struggles with what to do: Save his father's people being held in captivity or save himself by escaping back to Byth with the riches only a fabled Golden Goose can offer? With its mystical creatures, vicious swordplay, and wondrous worlds filled with real people facing real problems, only one thing is for certain: This is not your parents' Jack and the Beanstalk story.