It's the week before Christmas, 1969, and an unexpected gift arrives for 15-year-old Arthur August Mallory. His namesake great uncle, a man whose existence was unknown to him until the package arrived, has sent him a remarkable gift. Because of the ancient book, this teenage boy has the power to make the world over any way he wants-but not the power to overcome the unintended consequences of his actions. Who can Mallory trust to help him discover a way to deal with the problems he has created?

Doctors' visits and counseling bring no relief to 15-year-old Lyn. Then she has an exquisite dream--one that brings her immediate and lasting relief. Simply remembering the dream fills her with serenity. Then a stranger, a handsome young man, comes into her life by chance. She begins to believe that the creature who came to her in her dream is actually this same young man. As she grows to know him better, she realizes their encounter is only the final element in a lengthy, dangerous entanglement in which she has been used as bait to lure an enchanted beast to his death.