At the end of a boring summer in her un-magical hometown, Holly O'Flanigan is eager to return to the parallel world of Magora. Holly's nosy neighbor, Ms. Hubbleworth, has been missing for a year, and Holly and her friends, Brian, Rufus, and Amanda, know where she is. A year ago, they left the real world together and entered Magora via a painting Holly's late grandfather created. When Holly and her friends head back to Magora to enroll for their second year at Cliffony Academy of the Arts, Holly finds out that her friend Ileana is severely ill. She suffers from a disease that dissolves her...

When a mysterious fire ravages the town of Donkleywood, causing the death of her beloved grandfather Nickolas, eleven-year-old Holly O'Flanigan, numb with grief, loses all hope of ever becoming a famous artist like him or of escaping her abusive foster family, the Smoralls. While hiding from them, Holly discovers a secret attic where her grandfather left a decidedly unusual paintbrush and a canvas with the image of a fantasy world-one Holly and three friends literally fall into. The painting is a gateway to the parallel world of Magora, where everything and everyone are created by painting....