Barthos is a Schnappling from the kingdom of Oonof. After a decade of war with Grimland invaders, Barthos and his family are sent on a mission to find a site to which his people can relocate. Their search leads them to the Knossos Valley. When they arrive, their first challenge is to convince the strange inhabitants of the valley to allow them to settle among them. Barthos' children, Fretha and Boramth, meet and befriend the Elfman children in the valley, each endowed with a different power. Fretha and Boramth are taught by the Elfmans to enter other realities and travel wherever they like by learning how to "not be where you are." Gorthin, a wicked wizard, has been imprisoned along with the mysterious and dangerous paradox realities in the Pit of Paradox for twenty years. His plan is to escape and kidnap Abatha, a young sorceress gifted with abilities far beyond her years, and use her to gain control of the Five Kingdoms. Frink, a rather silly Torkian, is unwittingly under Gorthin's control and being used to devise a trap for the inhabitants of the Five Kingdoms. Kristof, a sorcerer raised by Barthos' family, is the leader of the Wizards Council. Together they must find a way to stop Gorthin and his followers before it's too late.