Charlie Bone's life with his widowed mother and two grandmothers undergoes a dramatic change when he discovers that he can hear people in photographs talking.

When Asa Pike, a Bloor's Academy student with the ability to change into a beast at dusk, goes missing, twelve-year-old Charlie Bone suspects a new classmate, the magically gifted Dagobert Endless, of foul play.

Charlie Bone hopes that the new term at Bloor's Academy will hold no unwelcome surprises. But then his distant relative Henry Yewbeam appears out of thin air, twisted through time from 1916 by Henry's wicked cousin, Ezekiel Bloor. Ezekiel, who is still alive, still nasty, and now ancient, vows to track Henry down and get rid of him once and for all. And with Charlie's scheming Yewbeam aunts also on the prowl, Henry desperately needs Charlie's help...

Magically-gifted Charlie Bone, accompanied by his best friend's dog, Runner Bean, comes to the rescue when the enchanter Count Harken takes revenge on the Red King's heirs by kidnapping and imprisoning Charlie's ancestors in the dark, forbidding land of Badlock.

Charlie's new semester starts with his beloved Uncle Paton disappearing, then an invisible boy is discovered improsoned in the attic....