Thirteen-year-old Puckett Cornelius Jones believes there's more to life than what he sees around him. He doesn't like school, he's tired of eating dinner out of a can, and he's tired of the news on TV. Of course, he's never been to Orr where the breezes are fresh and sweet, the trees are a bit strange, and you can create weengbeeng. He's never been to a place where you can shoot Wrawls and Skyrunners in the clouds, or where you and your friends can be turned into tarantulas, eaten by Mole Goblins, or transformed into Dark Ones and batwolves. But Puckett's life is about to take a curious and deadly turn. His refusal to accept darkness and fear . . . and his deep yearning to know himself . . . are about to be challenged. Puckett's story begins when he sees the ghostly image of an old man beckoning to him above a blackened pool . . .