Streetwise pickpockets, Maggie and Josh, are inseparable. Only their friendship makes life bearable at the Scribbens Home for Very Wayward Children, run by the villainous Miss Scribbens. But when Maggie encounters a strange and sinister circus, she abandons Josh and tumbles headfirst into a world of dangerous and dazzling magic. She's determined to solve the mystery of its disappearing performers and animals. Where do they go? Who is the mastermind behind it all? Josh sets out to find Maggie, unaware of the dark dangers that lie ahead.