A professor, grieving for his dead wife, and his two daughters unwillingly journey to a parallel universe of fairy court, marauding trolls, and a prophecy that they will save this nether world. They board the Unicorn, a magic ship manned by elves. In the search for a dragon who will help them fulfill the prophecy, they encounter the Minotaur, Medusa, the Sphinx, an ogre, and a unicorn whose tears they need to reverse one of Medusa's misguided stares. The trolls also seek the dragon. Capture and slavery awaits failure, while faith precedes the miracle. The spirit of their mother is close to the girls, who must find courage and imagination, while Dad must keep his wits.

The story follows a group of teenage girls on the night of a sleepover as they venture out, led by the ringleader Chapin, in a competitive game of challenging dares. As the antics escalate, and the dares become more extreme, the girls unravel the truth behind a former student's rumored suicide.

Kristin Scott is wrongfully blamed for the death of her father just prior to his retirement as a Captain with the fire department. Along with being the only female firefighter on her squad, this puts her at odds with the other members of her team and she resigns. To prove herself she tackles the grueling training of smoke jumping. This is a rugged type of firefighter who jumps out of airplanes directly into the flames.