The Burton children have never held a cell phone, never been to the cinema and never spoken to anyone other than themselves. That's because they've spent the last fourteen years banned from stepping past the gates of the Burton Manor by their parents, who are terrified that just like their oldest child, Madeline, they too would be murdered. But everything changes when Anna Burton discovers a secret portal hidden within the manor leading to the magical kingdom of Cobadon; their true home. When she sneaks through, she is kidnapped, put under the control of a dark charm caster and made to perform a horrible murderous deed. Now it's up to her siblings older brother Roger, the twins Elliot and Freddie, and little Violet to travel to Cobadon, save Anna and clear her name.But all is not what it seems. As the truth behind Anna's kidnapping comes to light, the children quickly find themselves dragged deep into a world shrouded in dark magic, secrecy and betrayal.