King Sorrow

Arthur tells Erin about his summer with his late father’s family in the United Kingdom. Arthur works at his college library and aspires to do graduate studies at Magdalen College at Oxford University, where his father went. However, Arthur is worried about leaving Erin behind if her parole is denied. Erin, an Episcopalian pastor, talks about her community-building efforts at Black Cricket, like the book club she founded.

The Nighswander girls interrupt to ask why Erin is incarcerated. Erin trespassed and damaged federal property, which also led to the accidental death of a security officer whose life she then tried but failed to save. Erin feels responsible for the man’s death, believing that a person must accept the consequences of their choices, whether intended or not.

Jayne and her mother emotionally and physically abuse Tana after hearing this answer, scolding her for accidentally destroying her mother’s property. Arthur defends Tana, and the resulting altercation brings visiting hours to an end. Arthur forgets to get his hoodie back.

At the Rackham cafeteria, Arthur meets up with his roommate, Donovan “Van” McBride, Van’s twin sister, Donna, and Allie Shiner, whom Van has a crush on. They are using playing cards to demonstrate that Van and Donna have twin telepathy. A spectator named Colin Wren expresses curiosity over their abilities. He offers to show them his grandfather’s Zener deck, which can help to verify their psychic abilities.

Tana offers to return Arthur’s hoodie if he comes to the pizza shop where she works. When Arthur arrives, Jayne and her boyfriend, Ronnie Volpe, show him Polaroids of Erin being threatened with sexual and physical violence. Because of the kindness Arthur showed Tana, Jayne extorts Arthur, ordering him to steal $60,000 worth of rare books for them.

On his next shift, Arthur reluctantly steals three books from the Brooks Library Special Collection. Arthur does research and learns that Tana and Jayne’s mother, Daphne, was convicted of shooting a postal carrier she mistook for a gang member.

Van invites Arthur to come to Colin’s house for the psychic test.

Colin lives on a large estate known as The Briars. Colin’s grandfather was a Vietnam War military psychologist who later wrote a book on brainwashing. Colin lives with him because both of his parents died in a car accident.

While walking through the kitchen, Arthur encounters a teenage girl named Gwen Underfoot, who is doing a crossword puzzle; Gwen’s mother is the housekeeper. Arthur is instantly attracted to Gwen and offers help with her crossword.

The group settles in the study, which houses Colin’s grandfather’s Cabinet of Curiosities, a collection of antiques with supernatural associations. The McBride twins conduct the Zener deck psychic test, which ends when Arthur calls Van out for faking the reading. After a brief flirtation, Arthur and Gwen do their own psychic test. When Arthur remembers the threat to his mother’s life, Gwen observes that he is thinking of a Polaroid.

Every Sunday, Tana collects the stolen books from Arthur. She eventually informs Arthur that the books he’s stolen so far haven’t been worth much money.

Later, Colin invites Arthur to see something scary at The Briars.

Colin’s grandfather, Llewellyn, screens a film reel from his Cabinet of Curiosities. The film depicts a séance based on the Philip Experiment, in which researchers conjured a fictional ghost. For their version of the experiment, Llewellyn’s research group summoned a murderous ghost named Elwood Hondo, whom the military intended to deploy in battle. The séance in Llewellyn’s film causes violent poltergeist activity, which terrifies Donna so much that she turns on the lights. A lightbulb explodes, which Llewellyn blames on Hondo. Colin insinuates that the film is cursed with Hondo’s spirit.

The friend group discusses their beliefs and aspirations. Van’s progressive politics clash with Donna’s fierce conservatism. Colin is deeply interested in computer science. Allie loves statistics, which she hopes will brace her for the sad moments in her life.

Gwen plans to apply to community college to train as an emergency medical technician (EMT), so she can comfort people when they are scared. Arthur encourages Gwen to apply to Rackham. Gwen can’t afford it since she comes from a working-class family. Arthur feels bad that he can only attend Rackham because of the trust fund his father left him. Gwen points out that she can still help people without having to go to Rackham. Allie suggests that Gwen could work as Erin’s parole officer, which makes Arthur embarrassed that everyone knows about his mother’s incarceration.

On Halloween, Jayne attacks Arthur to motivate him into stealing more valuable books from the library. Arthur’s friends intervene, but Jayne attacks them too. A pregnant Tana helps Gwen to stop Arthur’s bleeding, allowing him to realize that Tana and Gwen already know each other.

Arthur confesses his situation to his friends. Colin offers to help pay off the Nighswanders, but Gwen argues that they will likely still force Arthur to steal books for them. Arthur acknowledges his friends’ emotional support. Colin then suggests that they make sure that Arthur doesn’t get caught.

Van and Colin pick Arthur up after he steals books on his next shift. Colin offers Arthur a rare strain of marijuana, which he got from Llewellyn, who uses it to relieve symptoms associated with AIDS.

The next Sunday, Arthur observes that Tana is still wearing his hoodie. She takes it off, after which they have sex. Arthur suspects that Jayne is using Tana to keep him compliant. Tana later hints that this is true. Tana hopes to free herself from Jayne’s abuse when she has her baby. She endorses Gwen as a romantic partner for Arthur and jokingly suggests that Arthur kill Jayne to solve their problems.

On Thanksgiving, a guilty Arthur visits his mother, Erin. He nearly tells her about Jayne, but chooses not to, knowing he cannot involve the police without endangering Tana.

When Arthur argues that the last book he stole is valuable enough to meet his obligation, Jayne informs him that stolen books are undervalued on the black market. Her book buyer has asked for a one-of-a-kind book in the Special Collection, however: the notorious skin-bound journal of Enoch Crane, a man suspected of devil worship. Arthur is horrified, knowing that the theft of this book could be immediately traced back to him.

Arthur visits Gwen to tell her that the Rackham College bylaws enable her to enroll on a reduced payment plan since her father works as the campus groundskeeper. Gwen is reluctant to take his advice, but Arthur urges her to try anyway.

On Christmas Eve, Arthur learns that Erin was placed in isolation. A contraband weapon was discovered in her cell. Arthur believes that Tana and Jayne’s mother, Daphne, planted it.

After Christmas break, Arthur steals the Crane journal.

At The Briars, Colin passes marijuana around while reading the Crane journal. He tells the group that Crane indoctrinated two girls, the Cobbett sisters, in the worship of a demon named King Sorrow.

Colin reads that one of the Cobbetts had shown Crane her “contra punctum.” Arthur guesses that this is a euphemism for sex.

Colin confirms that Arthur’s guess is correct.

Crane claimed that King Sorrow was a dragon from a place called the Long Dark. Crane learned about King Sorrow by speaking to his own reflection in a pail of water, which he called the Other Face. Crane and the Cobbetts then performed a ritual to summon King Sorrow.

Van and Gwen raise the possibility of trying the summoning ritual themselves.

According to Colin, King Sorrow has emerged from the Long Dark into the world many times before, striking deals with King Herod and Genghis Khan. These deals usually involve sacrifice, as King Sorrow feeds on fear and pain. Colin then admits that he invented some of these details, though he described them with the conviction of truth.

The group begins the ceremony by filling a helmet from the Cabinet with water. The helmet transforms into a conch shell, then a broken mirror. When the ceremony causes poltergeist activity, Donna nearly quits out of fear. Van reassures her. Arthur sees the Other Face in the helmet and takes its instructions.

Arthur and his friends are given tasks to prepare for King Sorrow’s arrival. Arthur hunts an otherworldly Enoch Crane down outside The Briars to fetch King Sorrow’s meal. When Arthur tackles Crane, he sees that Crane has a cabinet in place of a torso. The cabinet contains portentous omens, like a bloody airline ticket with Allie’s name and a postcard of a stone bridge. Crane warns that King Sorrow will take Arthur’s heart. Arthur brings Crane’s heart to the study to serve to King Sorrow.

King Sorrow appears and demands the sacrifice of a life in return for his protection. The life the group offers cannot be substituted once given, unless they offer themselves in the sacrifice’s place. King Sorrow can only take the sacrifice on Easter, but he guarantees the group’s protection by bestowing them with the mark of the serpent, which they can use to summon him.

The group agrees to the terms. Arthur names Jayne and her boyfriend, Ronnie, as offerings to King Sorrow. Arthur accidentally tips the helmet over, breaking the ritual. The group is shocked to discover that the encounter with King Sorrow lasted an entire day when it felt like a few minutes.

Arthur personally turns Crane’s journal over to Jayne. He is surprised that Jayne looks terrible, which she explains is the result of bad dreams.

Arthur urges Jayne to negotiate $30,000 for the journal. He also asks her to stay away from him until after February, so that he can testify at Erin’s parole hearing without interruption.

Arthur returns to The Briars and finds his friends burning down that year’s Christmas tree. Arthur nearly kisses Gwen, but the guilt of sex with Tana and his plans to move to Oxford prevent him from doing so. This disappoints Gwen.

Tana informs Arthur that Jayne has agreed to stop bothering him, hinting that the deal went exactly as Arthur hoped. Tana adds that the Crane journal deeply disturbed Jayne.

Serpent tattoos magically appear on Gwen, Van, and Arthur’s bodies. Gwen and Van recall King Sorrow’s promise to mark them from the ritual.

The three experience a vision of Jayne: Jayne investigates a presence in her house one night and sees a talking dragon on her TV. She destroys the TV with a shotgun, but the dragon disappears by the time Tana and Ronnie check on her. Jayne is terrified that the dragon knows her name.

Arthur wants to take back his deal with King Sorrow. Colin argues that it may benefit the world to get rid of Jayne and Ronnie. Arthur hesitates to have Jayne’s suffering on his conscience, especially since the vision allowed him to feel Jayne’s fear. Colin theorizes that King Sorrow has a short range of impact, so Jayne and Ronnie may have a chance to escape if they leave town.

The group argues over letting King Sorrow kill Jayne and Ronnie, with Donna and Allie supporting Colin. However, Van agrees with Arthur, which forces Donna to concede.

Arthur and his friends ambush Jayne and Ronnie and urge them to leave town before Easter, indicating their awareness of Jayne’s frightful experiences. Colin also tries to make Jayne promise to clear Erin’s name for the contraband incident, intimidating her with the threat of King Sorrow. Allie touches her tattoo to demonstrate, destroying a nearby streetlamp. Terrified, Ronnie and Jayne flee.

Arthur testifies at Erin’s parole hearing. The panel hints at their favorable opinion, which is bolstered by her exoneration in the contraband incident. Later, Van informs Arthur that there was a break-in at the college library during the parole hearing, clearing Arthur of any suspected involvement.

It is revealed that Arthur’s friends staged the robbery to cover up his actions.

Erin’s parole is approved.

Erin applies to work as a chaplain at the Black Cricket prison, which she now feels is part of her advocacy. Arthur is upset because he wants her to stay out of Daphne’s reach.

Tana accuses Arthur of intimidating Jayne and Ronnie, who have abandoned her. She was depending on them to drive her around during the final month of her pregnancy. Arthur placates her by agreeing to ask Gwen to drive her instead. He asks Tana not to tell Gwen they had sex, which insults Tana.

Gwen agrees to drive Tana around. The next time Arthur sees her, Gwen anxiously asks him to be her prom date. To Arthur’s shame, Gwen reveals that Tana has spoken nicely about him.

On Easter eve, Arthur prays for Ronnie and Jayne to be spared.

Arthur spends all of Easter in nervous anticipation.

Several days later, Gwen informs her friends that she has been accepted to Rackham. This gives Arthur some relief from his anxiety.

Gwen and Arthur encounter Tana, who reveals that Jayne was incinerated in her car. Arthur is in shock. When he offers his condolences, Tana admits that she feels bad because she doesn’t feel sorry about losing Jayne.

Arthur and Gwen tell their friends the news. They reflect on the morality of their actions, with Colin arguing that Jayne’s death is no different from any of the things the United States has done to exploit resources overseas and improve the quality of life domestically. King Sorrow joins their gathering.

King Sorrow shows the group a vision of Jayne and Ronnie’s last days.

Jayne decided to mail a letter as part of a contingency plan. The vision does not reveal the content nor the addressee of the letter. King Sorrow surprised Jayne in Reno, Nevada, prompting her and Ronnie to flee west. Jayne and Ronnie’s car broke down at the California border. They entered an abandoned drive-in theater and considered barricading themselves there. When Ronnie investigated the projector, it activated, showing King Sorrow’s shadow flying up into the air. Ronnie’s corpse crashed into the car. Jayne begged for mercy, but King Sorrow incinerated her.

Arthur wonders about the letter Jayne sent. He receives a letter of acceptance to Magdalen College at Oxford.

On prom night, Gwen and Arthur discuss the implications of Arthur’s impending departure on their relationship. They leave prom early and have sex at Arthur’s house. Afterwards, they talk about the serpent tattoo, which Gwen still has. Arthur asserts that things with King Sorrow are done. Tana calls for help after going into labor.

Arthur and Gwen bring Tana to the hospital. Gwen chooses to keep Tana company. She tells Arthur that she has been hired to look after Llewellyn after he experienced an accidental fall at home. Gwen has decided to forego her enrollment at Rackham and instead pursue EMT training. She stresses that helping people is her way of finding absolution for dealing with King Sorrow. Arthur momentarily considers giving up his life plans for Gwen, but both know she isn’t what he needs. Later, Gwen informs Arthur that Tana gave birth to a boy.

That summer, Van covers government stories for his father’s newspaper. Donna starts presenting TV news. Allie goes traveling around the world. Colin goes to New York to intern at America Online. They all write letters to Arthur about their experiences, which Gwen reads aloud during her visits.

Arthur and Gwen help Erin move to Vermont, so she can live closer to Black Cricket. Erin registers and approves of their romantic relationship.

In December, Arthur returns from London and reunites with his friends at The Briars. Gwen arrives late and tells them that King Sorrow visited her that morning. He is waiting for them to choose the next sacrifice.

King Sorrow reveals that Gwen and her friends made a deal to offer him one soul every Easter for the rest of their lives. Colin suggests drawing up a list of people who cause continuing harm to others and have avoided accountability for their crimes.

During their time together, Llewellyn expresses his fondness for Gwen as a companion at the end of his life. He regrets how he raised Colin’s father and hopes that he helped Colin to turn out better than his father did. He later expresses guilt over his war crimes in Vietnam.

Colin presents his list of candidates for the sacrifice. Though Donna insists on selecting a man suspected of killing her childhood best friend, the rest go through the list out of respect for Colin’s effort. Privately, Arthur admits to Gwen that he is conflicted between his longing to return home to her and his ambition to carry on his father’s legacy as a Black academic at Oxford.

One day at Tana’s, Gwen discovers the name of Jayne’s book buyer, Bridget Fleming. The group visits Fleming in Boston to see if she still possesses the Crane journal, which they hope to consult for guidance on sending King Sorrow away. They find Fleming’s house with the help of a man with pyromania named Sheldon. Fleming denies knowing anything about Jayne and the Crane journal and threatens to call the police when she sees Sheldon.

After lackluster sex with Arthur, Gwen encounters King Sorrow on her way home. Gwen challenges King Sorrow to a riddling contest to stop him from tormenting the sacrifices before he kills them. Because Gwen loses the contest, she must tell Arthur she no longer loves him and is barred from any sexual contact with him. King Sorrow also reveals that Arthur and Tana had sex. He then offers to grant Gwen’s initial request if she can stump him with her own riddle. Gwen succeeds by recalling a joke Colin once told.

Before Arthur returns to the United Kingdom, Gwen confronts him about Tana. When Arthur apologizes, Gwen ends their romance, fulfilling the condition of her loss to King Sorrow. Arthur no longer sees Maine as his home.

The following spring, Gwen realizes that Llewellyn made up his war crimes to appear morally repugnant. He hoped this would convince her to justify his death by assisted suicide. Colin and Gwen choose Llewellyn as their sacrifice to King Sorrow. They serve him a goblet of dragon tears, which King Sorrow gave Gwen after the riddling contest. Llewellyn accepts the goblet and dies peacefully. Gwen stores the remaining dragon tears. A grieving Colin secludes himself, leaving his friends to handle Llewellyn’s funeral arrangements.

Gwen asks Tana to help her steal the Crane journal from Fleming’s house while Fleming is away. When they arrive, however, they learn that Sheldon has set the house on fire, making it impossible to recover the journal.

Daphne receives a coded letter from Jayne, who posthumously informs her mother that Arthur and his friends are responsible for her death. Daphne commits the group’s names to memory.