Joe Slade, a detective seemingly yanked from the pages of his own crime novel, realizes he is indeed a work of fiction. Now faced with this universe-shattering revelation, Slade traverses the perilous landscapes of genres that are not his own—a kaleidoscope of literary worlds ranging from the high stakes of spy fiction to the eerie corridors of gothic horror. With his mentor Ellodrine, a wizard endlessly reinterpreted by his readership, Slade must gather eldritch artifacts that hold the key to escaping his paper-bound existence and confront the ceaselessly rewritten realities of their adventures. In the pursuit of autonomy and rewriting their destinies, the duo must navigate the treacherous realms of bodice-ripping romance, gritty cyberpunk, and beyond—all while facing the ultimate adversary, The Antagonist, who seeks to etch their continued captivity in ink. Only by understanding the truth of their fictional natures can Joe and Ellodrine hope to seize real freedom and, in the process, pen their own ending.