Ember-a curious, quirky college student-meanders through life with her head in the clouds. One weekend, at her parents' home in the mysterious Smokey Mountains, she's so distracted by the flora and fauna in her backyard that a bizarre, unnatural storm nearly engulfs her. She narrowly escapes to the safety of her room, where a peculiar book awaits her. As she dives into the story, an intriguing figure lures her into the very pages, trapping her within between the book's covers!
Between encounters with fantastical friends, Greek gods, soul-sucking dragons, and the monsters that lurk about in the real world, Ember eventually descends into Hades and meets a ghostly girl who needs her help. On this mind-boggling trek that has her questioning what reality even is, she must decide whether she'll drown in despair, or join forces with her friends to save the universe and become the true author of her own life.