A year has passed, but not a day goes by without Meggie thinking of Inkheart, the book whose characters came to life. For the fire-eater Dustfinger, the need to return to the tale has become desperate. When he finds a crooked storyteller to read him back, he abandons his apprentice Farid and plunges into the pages. Before long, Farid and Meggie are caught inside the book, too. But the story is much changed- and threatening to end tragically.