Months have passed since Dustfinger sacrificed his life for his apprentice Farid's, and Meggie read the oily Orpheus into the Inkworld with the faint hope he could bring back the fire-eater. Now, under the rule of the evil Adderhead, the fairy tale land is in bloody choas, its characters dar beyond the control of Fenoglio, their author. Facing the threat of eternal winter, Mo inks a dangerous deal with Death itself. One chance remains to change the cursed story...