Apollo wakes in a Manhattan alley to discover he has been transformed into an ordinary mortal teenager named Lester Papadopoulos.

Meg McCaffrey rescues Apollo from muggers using rotten fruit and immediately claims him as her servant, binding his service to her.

Percy Jackson reluctantly agrees to drive Apollo and Meg to Camp Half-Blood but refuses any further involvement in their quest.

Plague spirits attack the group on the road, Percy crashes his car, and Meg inadvertently summons the grain spirit Peaches.

Apollo arrives at Camp Half-Blood and is reunited with his demigod children Will Solace, Kayla Knowles, and Austin Lake.

Chiron informs Apollo that the Oracle has gone silent, all communication is blocked, and several campers have mysteriously disappeared.

Demeter's symbol of a sickle and wheat appears above Meg's head, officially claiming her as a daughter of the harvest goddess.

Inside the Labyrinth, Apollo and Meg overhear Python and a shadowy man called the Beast conspiring to destroy the Grove of Dodona.

Apollo and Meg escape the Labyrinth with three golden apples and discover that Kayla and Austin have vanished into the woods.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare arrives by helicopter and presents evidence that Triumvirate Holdings, run by ancient Roman emperors, is behind the Oracle crisis.

Rhea appears to Apollo in the woods, names Nero as the Beast and leader of the triumvirate, and hands him wind chimes.

Nero arrives at the grove gateway and reveals that Meg is his stepdaughter who led Apollo to him as planned.

Meg defies Nero after the grove's trees reveal his true intentions, and Peaches bites the lit match from Nero's hand.

Dryads draw Nero's fire into their own bodies and die saving the grove, while Apollo frees the captured demigods from their stakes.

Percy Jackson arrives on his hellhound to help destroy the Colossus Neronis, and Leo Valdez flies in on Festus afterward.

The story begins when the god Apollo is cast from Olympus and transformed into a mortal teenager, leading him to partner with the mysterious demigod Meg McCaffrey and seek refuge at Camp Half-Blood. Apollo discovers that his fall is directly connected to a larger crisis: the Oracle has gone silent, campers are disappearing, and an ancient enemy is plotting to seize control of all prophecy. The villainous Emperor Nero, operating through the corporate front Triumvirate Holdings, is revealed as the mastermind behind every threat Apollo has faced since landing in New York. Apollo and Meg brave the camp's enchanted woods, uncover the sacred Grove of Dodona, and suffer a devastating betrayal when Meg's secret loyalty to Nero is exposed. Despite everything, Meg ultimately defies her stepfather to protect the grove, and Apollo rallies the camp to destroy Nero's giant bronze automaton. The book closes with Apollo forging a new alliance with Leo Valdez and Calypso, setting the stage for the next Oracle quest.

Apollo's fall, quest, and triumph against Nero.

Apollo hears Zeus declare 'your fault, your punishment' and wakes in a Manhattan alley to discover he has a mortal body with acne.

Apollo reveals his divine identity to Meg and explains that serving a mortal master is how he can become a god again.

Percy explains to Apollo that blood spilled at the battle of Athens triggered a chain of events that ultimately caused Apollo's mortal punishment.

Percy ruptures an irrigation tanker and sprays water onto the nosoi, diluting the plague spirits' power during the roadside ambush.

Meg stamps her foot in rage, and frozen peaches fuse together into a baby-like karpos with glowing green eyes that she names Peaches.

Apollo fails at archery practice and swears on the River Styx never to shoot a bow or play an instrument in his mortal form.

Sherman Yang walks toward the woods in a trance, and Apollo pulls him back and concludes the trees are actively luring campers inside.

Apollo and Meg stumble onto a ledge directly beneath the seized Oracle of Delphi and hear the monster Python moving overhead.

Meg tells Apollo she recognizes the Beast's voice as the man who murdered her father and that her stepfather later adopted her.

Will Solace gifts Apollo a combat ukulele for the quest, and the other campers send Apollo and Meg off with good wishes.

Pete the geyser spirit reluctantly reveals to Apollo that the myrmeke ant nest is the only known entrance to the Grove of Dodona.

Apollo enters the myrmeke nest singing to mesmerize the ants, follows Meg's trail of sprouting geraniums, and finds her trapped in a larder.

Apollo performs for the queen ant to avoid being eaten, and she guides them into the tunnel leading to the Grove of Dodona.

Meg hangs Rhea's wind chimes in the central oak, and the grove delivers Apollo's next quest prophecy in the form of a limerick.

Apollo, Rachel, and Percy interpret the grove's prophecy together and determine that the next Oracle is located in Indiana.

Apollo's transformation into a mortal begins with Zeus's thunderous decree and unfolds through a series of escalating humiliations, from his helplessness during the nosoi ambush on the highway to his painful failures at archery practice at Camp Half-Blood. Crucial pieces of the larger puzzle emerge gradually: Sherman Yang's trance reveals the woods are luring campers, and Meg's guarded confession about her father's murder reframes everything Apollo thought he understood about her. The journey into the woods tests Apollo and Meg through their strange encounter with the salesman-like geyser spirit Pete and the terrifying myrmeke ants, ultimately forcing Apollo to rescue Meg from their food larder alone. The Grove of Dodona is finally accessed through a combination of the queen ant's goodwill and Rhea's wind chimes, delivering a cryptic limerick prophecy about Apollo's next trial. After the battle with Nero's Colossus, Apollo, Rachel, and Percy piece the prophecy's clues together, confirming that Indiana and Leo Valdez hold the key to what comes next.

Key supporting moments from Apollo's mortal adventure.

Cade and Mikey beat Apollo until he bleeds, and Apollo is shocked to see mortal red blood instead of divine golden ichor.

Meg claims Apollo's service aloud in the alley, and thunder rumbles overhead to confirm the supernatural binding before Apollo can respond.

Percy tells Apollo that the gods have been unaware of his whereabouts for six months, suggesting Apollo has been held in a limbo state.

Sally Jackson welcomes Apollo and Meg with food and warmth, and both respond with an unexpected and genuine need for comfort.

Apollo collapses after visions of a crowned woman urging him toward a gateway and a threatening bearded man commanding an oracle to burn.

Apollo discovers his musical talent is still intact at camp, but his mortal fingers cramp after playing, exposing the limits of his human form.

Meg draws her imperial gold swords from her crescent rings to defend herself during a prank attack, shocking the entire camp.

Apollo deduces that voices luring campers into the woods belong to the ancient Grove of Dodona, which has regrown within the camp's forest.

Apollo recognizes the Beast's voice in the Labyrinth as the same threatening bearded man from his recurring hallucinations and dreams.

Apollo keeps an all-night vigil at the edge of the woods and feels genuine parental grief and responsibility for his missing children.

An exhausted Apollo collapses in the woods and wakes to find titan queen Rhea and her two golden lions standing over him.

Nero reveals that Cade and Mikey, the muggers who attacked Apollo in the alley, were his hired servants sent to intercept him.

Bound by his service oath, Apollo's body compels him to obey as Meg commands him to help open the grove's sacred gateway.

Apollo realizes Nero manipulates Meg by blaming her for his own cruelty, the same tactic Zeus has always used to control Apollo.

Percy's arrival on his hellhound restores Apollo's confidence, allowing him to successfully enchant a plague arrow using Chiron's bow.

Apollo's transformation from arrogant god to empathetic mortal is driven by a series of jarring personal revelations, beginning with the shock of bleeding mortal blood and finding himself magically bound to a twelve-year-old stranger. Emotional turning points accumulate steadily: the unexpected warmth Apollo feels at Sally Jackson's table, the discovery that some divine talents survive in his limited human form, and the deepening dread he feels when his own children go missing in the woods. The mysteries surrounding Meg, the Beast, and the Grove of Dodona are peeled back layer by layer, from Apollo's first terrifying prophetic visions to his sudden recognition of Nero's voice echoing through the Labyrinth. Apollo's encounter with Rhea and his witnessing of Nero's psychological grip on Meg force him to confront the same pattern of cruelty and control in his own relationship with Zeus, generating a profound and painful self-awareness. The pool closes with Percy's timely arrival restoring Apollo's faltering courage, allowing him to strike the decisive blow against the Colossus and fully step into his role as a mortal hero.