Lucy Hart, a 26-year-old teacher's aide, finds the chance of a lifetime when reclusive author Jack Masterson emerges from obscurity with a new book: a prize capable of transforming the winner's life. Having grown up feeling the sting of neglect, Lucy discovered solace in Masterson's Clock Island series and now wishes to share that comfort with Christopher, her beloved seven-year-old orphaned student whom she dreams of adopting. The odds seem against her until she receives an invitation to compete on Clock Island itself, for the only copy of Masterson's latest work. Facing cunning book collectors and an enigmatic illustrator, Lucy is propelled into a competition rife with intrigue, where Masterson's final literary twist awaits, promising an outcome that could reconfigure their futures.