There have been three wars in Portsmouth, New Hampshire in the last thirty years, but everyone pretends nothing weird has ever happened here. No wars, no "Materialist Magicians" doing evil, and certainly no "elves" working to stop them. Divorced and finally working again after losing his last job, Jerry August just wants to live an ordinary life. He's met a girl named Leda. She's a friend of the elves, but Jerry's willing to overlook that. Why, Jerry wonders, does his wealthy Uncle Quincy want him to visit the powerful beings who rule a world that is not Earth? When Jerry refuses the Old...