Journey to an island where the magic is real, hope is reborn, and the dead live on ... The year is 1918. War rages across Europe. A strange and deadly new disease has struck fear into the heart of a nation. But for Walter, Peter, and Pip, the three young Luther boys, life in Pennsylvania coal-mining country means blissful days playing in the glade and forests along the shores of Lake Acheron. Together with their best friend Hattie, they partake of the wonder and magic of the whimsical games Rosalie Luther-better known as "Mama"-invents for them. When the schools are closed to protect the students from contracting the deadly virus, the children rejoice at the promise of an indefinite holiday. After "The Flu" claims the life of someone close to them, their world seems shattered beyond repair-until they discover an impossible island where the dead live on. In this place of goblins, dragons, and enchanted gardens, the magic which used to exist only in imagination is made real. Yet even as they bask in the light of hope reborn, a new darkness settles over their home, threatening to send their family into an even deeper ruin ...