The adventures of a spirited boy growing up in a Mississippi River town in the nineteenth century, as he tries a new method for curing warts, witnesses a murder, runs away to an island and pretends to be a pirate, watches his own funeral, and falls for the new girl in the neighborhood.

In the late nineteenth century, when Conor Broekhart discovers a conspiracy to overthrow the king, he is branded a traitor, imprisoned, and forced to mine for diamonds under brutal conditions while he plans a daring escape from Little Saltee prison by way of a flying machine that he must design, build, and, hardest of all, trust to carry him to safety.

Jonah, Katherine, Chip, and Alex suddenly find themselves in 1483 at the Tower of London, where they discover that Chip and Alex are Prince Edward V and Richard of Shrewsbury, imprisoned by their uncle, King Richard III, but trying to repair history without knowing what is supposed to happen proves challenging. Author's note includes historical facts about the princes and king.

Things have been better for Callum Hunt since the evil Constantine Madden was "officially" destroyed, even his relations with his father have improved, so he is happy to get back to the Magisterium for his Bronze Year to continue his magical studies--but when one of the students is murdered, Call and his friends, Tamara and Aaron, must track down the killer, without revealing the fact that Call is Madden reborn.