She was aware of the powerful life of the written word, aware of the magic that curved reality around fiction, just as the universe bends space around mass. Beatrice should actually be satisfied. She has taken over Mr. Plana's antiquarian bookstore, her husband is healthy again, and the publishing house is eager for a new manuscript. Everything seems to be running smoothly. But then the curious shopkeeper Quirinus appears, making her an offer she simply cannot refuse. Together, they set off on a journey back to the deepest regions of the land of books.