The story opens with Amari Peters, a 13-year-old girl who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, running to meet her best friend Elsie Rodriguez before school. Elsie has also invited Julia and Bear, two other students from their school who work at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs. Before Bear arrives, Elsie excitedly shows Amari some articles about her latest exploits. Amari recently defeated an evil magician and has tried to change the supernatural community’s long-standing animosity toward magicians. Indeed, magicians have been hated and feared for centuries because two of them, Vladimir and Moreau (also known as the Night Brothers), committed horrible crimes during the Ancient Wars.

Once the friends are gathered, Elsie announces that she bought each of them fortune cookies to celebrate the end of the school year and the beginning of summer camp. The cookies are enchanted to reveal real answers to a single question. When Amari asks a different question—whether there is anything important she should know—the cookie warns her against “unseen dangers” (14).

Amari and Elsie then prepare to go on their last-day-of-school field trip to the Georgia Aquarium. Elsie tries to reassure a worried Amari, but the latter still has an ominous feeling.