Rainy returns her mother’s book to the safe and takes her umbrella out. Accompanied by her cat familiar, Koshka, she drives her vintage Volkswagen to Words, Words, Words, the local bookstore that houses the coven’s headquarters.

Inside, she is drawn to a display of detective novels that includes the Duke of Chicago books. As she picks up a copy of one, The Velvet Coffin, Dr. Fanshawe appears. Not wanting Fanshawe to see that she is still interested in the Duke, Rainy hides the book behind a Nancy Drew novel.

Penny is also present, celebrating “Mad Hatter Day” by wearing bunny ears, and she places a pair on Rainy’s head. Fanshawe notices that Rainy is hiding something and demands to see it. Rainy claims that it’s just a Nancy Drew book she wanted to read, and Fanshawer seems skeptical but lets it go. She gives Rainy her new assignment: Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice has been missing from her novel for two days and was last seen at Sunset Beach in Oregon. Rainy must return her to her novel before sunset.

From the case file, Rainy learns that a Burner freed Elizabeth Bennet from her story just before her wedding. On the way to Sunset Beach, she sees a Free Little Library box, but it has been vandalized and emptied of books. Using an emergency kit from her trunk, she restocks it with books and enchants it with magic blue dust that will ensure it always attracts the books local readers need. In the process, some of the magic dust gets on her.

At the beach, Rainy finds Elizabeth dressed in modern clothes and mesmerized by the ocean. Rainy explains to Elizabeth that she is a hero to many readers and must return to her story. To build rapport, she tells Elizabeth about her own painful breakup with Duke. Elizabeth is intrigued by the modern world, particularly the idea that women can attend university, and is still reluctant to return to her book. As a compromise, Rainy agrees to let her watch the sunset, even though she is breaking Fanshawe’s deadline. After the sun sets, Elizabeth changes back into her Regency-era gown, and Rainy uses a spell to return her to Pride and Prejudice, erasing her memory of the brief adventure.

Rainy returns to the bookstore feeling successful, but Fanshawe reprimands her for being two minutes late in returning Elizabeth Bennet to her book. As punishment, Fanshawe confiscates Rainy’s umbrella and insults her by comparing her unfavorably to her mother, Ellery, who Fanshawe says was “perfect.”

Upset, Rainy leaves with Koshka. Penny follows to comfort her and, when Rainy’s car fails to start, offers to walk home with her. During the walk, Rainy confides in Penny about Duke, and Penny agrees that the coven’s rule against relationships with fictional characters is foolish.

At Pilcrow House, Penny reveals that Pops is not on an official Coven mission, which deeply worries Rainy. Before leaving, Penny gives Rainy a gift, which Rainy assumes is a Nancy Drew book, and hints that the bookstore’s back door might be unlocked, implying that Rainy could retrieve her umbrella. Just then, Mrs. Turner announces they have been robbed.

In the library, Rainy discovers the wall safe is open, and her mother’s copy of The Secret of the Old Clock is gone. Devastated, she wishes Duke were there to solve the crime. A knock at the front door reveals the Duke himself. He is disoriented, and Rainy realizes that he is suffering from “traumatic displacement,” a condition where a fictional character is violently pulled into the real world. He quotes erratically from famous literature as Rainy helps him to a couch.

Mrs. Turner brings tea, which briefly helps Duke regain his senses before he faints. Wondering how he was summoned without a copy of his book, Rainy remembers Penny’s gift. She unwraps it and finds not a Nancy Drew novel, but a Duke of Chicago book, The Velvet Coffin. Rainy realizes that the magic dust she accidentally sprinkled on herself enchanted her to receive the book she most desired. Her longing, combined with the book’s presence, accidentally pulled Duke into her world.

Rainy falls asleep by the fire and wakes hours later in her own bed. She finds Duke downstairs, fully recovered and wearing a fresh suit. They argue about whether he should stay, but Mrs. Turner interrupts, stating she has “hired” Duke to find the stolen book. Duke convinces Rainy to let him help by suggesting that her grandfather’s strange disappearance and the theft are connected.

They examine Pops’s desk, but it reveals nothing, and one of the drawers is locked by enchanted means. When they look at the goodbye note that Pops left, Duke finds the phrase “watching the clock” suspicious. He inspects a carriage clock on the mantel, discovers a hidden key inside, and uses it to unlock an enchanted drawer in Pops’s desk.

Rainy agrees to let Duke help investigate until midnight the next day, but she establishes firm ground rules against any romance. Inside the locked drawer, they find Pops’s case notebook, which is filled with research on The Secret of the Old Clock. A final entry reveals that Pops discovered a secret message from Ellery just before he left. The message concerns a hidden “inheritance” for Rainy that “changes everything” about stories and will allow her and Duke to be together.

As they process this, the coven hotline rings. It is Pops, calling from an unknown location. His connection is poor, but he confirms he was right about the book’s message. Before the line cuts out, he gives Rainy a cryptic instruction: “Find the March Hare” (112). Puzzled, they conclude he must be referring to the character from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Koshka leads them to a copy of the book on a library shelf.

To investigate Pops’s message, Rainy and Duke decide they must enter Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. They sneak back to the bookstore after 4:00 am to retrieve Rainy’s confiscated umbrella. However, they find that the Carroll book is a “Code Red Ink” book (131). It is so important that it has been magically locked, and they cannot enter it.

A police officer sees their lights inside the bookstore and comes inside to investigate. Rainy quickly grabs a different book—The Legends of King Arthur—and uses her umbrella to transport herself, Duke, and Koshka into its world to hide. They land in a meadow near Camelot. While they wait, a mysterious rider on a black horse approaches. It is X. He warns Rainy to abandon her search for the March Hare. He also claims that her mother, Ellery, was not the hero she imagines and that the truth will be unpleasant.