Mathilde escapes war-torn Sofarende and reunites with Megs and the other children who are working for the army to retake Sofarende from the enemy, but Mathilde must come to terms with her past treasonous actions and determine what she must do in order to prove her friendship to Megs.

"After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think--she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with "the smiling man," a sinister specter...