Eleven-year-old Jack's ordinary life is upended when mysterious creatures attack his hometown and he is whisked into a fantastical adventure filled with danger at every turn. Jack learns that most live in a shadow of the world, their vision blinded by invisible scales that have covered human eyes since the beginning of time. But the Awakened experience the world as it truly is, where war rages between good and evil—and Jack is at the heart of it. The Awakened are searching for The Child of Prophesy who will both save the world and destroy it. When Jack joins in their epic battle he must learn to trust his friends and face his fears if he is to make his life count.

The Assassin is closing in. Just as Jack and his friend Alexia discover what it means to be the Chosen Ones, they each face the test of a lifetime. For Jack it is a question of trust; for Alexia, of loyalty. Everything rests on their making the right choices, and on the completion of their missions. The Assassin expects they will fail, and that they will either join him or be destroyed. It will take all of the Author’s forces, the special gifts Jack and Alexia each have, and the help of their friends, Arthur and Mrs. Dumphrey, to overcome. But when the enemy makes a key move, and an important quest proves difficult, the prophecy—that they will both destroy and save the world—seems further from coming true than ever before.

Our world is more fantastical than we dare imagine ... filled with both unbelievable beauty and horrific evil. Just ask Jack Staples and Alexia Dreager. They’re at the epicenter of the conflict that’s been raging since time before time began. Their birth and destiny have long been prophesied—but things aren’t going as planned. In this epic conclusion to the Jack Staples trilogy, Jack and Alexia must make an impossible choice during their final battle against the Assassin—one that could alter time itself and the fate of the world.