For Arizona native and Carson School alum, Tom Flanagan, adolescence was always on par with a masterful sleight of hand. Upperclassmen made freshman-life Hell, school officials ignored non-conformists, and cancer slowly drained the life from his father. But it was also a time in which a profound kinship was born.

Spurred on by a mutual fascination with magic, Tom bonded with Del Nightingale like a brother: fully united, even in opposition of the sociopathic senior, Steve “Skeleton” Ridpath. Tensions with their foe culminated in the theft and destruction of a rival school’s precious glass owl. But the subsequent clampdown at Carson was no match for Tom and Del’s magic performance; it would see the auditorium set ablaze and set them on their path toward Shadowland.

During the summer, with an invitation and a maternal instinct, Tom agrees to venture cross-country with Del to his uncle’s estate, the aptly named Shadowland. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime for those seeking illusionist nirvana. For Del’s uncle — the mercurial and cheeky Coleman Collins — only one ambition matters: to be the greatest of all magicians. And guiding two apprentices will only make him and them stronger.

But the boys’ sojourn brings them duplicity, mounting jealousy, and a wonky sense of time. Plus, there’s Coleman’s WWI-era bodyguards, the Wandering Boys, who prevent desertion at all costs. It’s a regular three-ring circus with Coleman leading from the frontline as master manipulator.

While grappling with this strange predicament, Tom is informed by his crush and fellow Shadowland denizen, Rose Armstrong, of Coleman’s ulterior motives. His intentions have always been nefarious, even before meeting the boys, and escape is their only option. The forces at play have had a longstanding influence on their lives, and Shadowland is the place where all their dreams are just a nightmare away.