Nutmeg Whelk has been kidnapped and she wakes up in another world. The island otherwise known as the World's Start is a weird and dangerous place where there are two suns and people are obsessed with Deals, a form of prayer that grants them what they want, for a much higher price. Sagittarius Flynn, the scientist who took her away from all that she loved, is convinced that for the experiments he's working on, he needs somebody else -- Crimson, Nutmeg's estranged twin. He sends his best rogue to find him -- trained villain Calico, who secretly has a heart of gold. The girl must do what she can to fend for herself in the strange world, but it isn't easy when she starts developing feeling for the mysterious and highly logical Corvus, the son of her kidnapper.