Titus Fogg hates magic and with good reason. Born into a murderous family of cruel and powerful casters in modern Massachusetts, magic has contributed to every bad thing that has happened to him since birth. After finally managing to banish the most likely evil (but definitely dirty-minded) entity called Shade from his body to the sidelines as his shadow, Titus has the chance to have a normal, magic-free, high school life. But, when Tess Roe, his classmate, neighbor, and model of justice at their school realizes she can see the creatures Titus calls the Wyrd, too, Titus must return to the world of the strange to help her. Soon Titus's dark past comes to light as he must prove that he isn't responsible for the death of one of Tess's friends and the theft of a magical book that could lead to the destruction of Arkham.