When the carnival comes to town, parents in the town of Obidiah's Glenn began to get sick, followed by the teachers, doctors, and the sheriff's department. The children of Obidiah's Glenn become suddenly wild, roaming about at night with crazed looks in their eyes. Sixteen-year-old Paisley Curtain realizes she has to do something to stop what she sees is happening - but there isn't anyone left in town that seems to be able to help. So she sends a letter to someone she hoped might listen, someone who would know what to do - a friend of her late sister's from college, a self-styled 'girl detective' with a questionable reputation named Judy Drood. Her only hope is that Judy will arrive in time to save her town, and to prevent her from ending up as yet another exhibit in the dark carnival's Hall of Embalmed Abominations!