Lillian Velvet lives a very lonely life with her cold and remote Grandmother. That is, until her tenth birthday, when she is given a pickle jar of gold coins, along with a note with clear instructions: don't go out, don't open the door for anyone, and don't spend all your coins in one day. What happens next seems impossible. The coins whisk Lillian away to a different time and place. There she meets a small boy in a circus about to be crushed to death; a lively family, each member in a distinctive form of mortal danger; a boy with a skateboard; and a girl who can whisper. And a web of dangerous magic closing tight around it all. Why is Lillian here? How is she supposed to help these new friends? And - most importantly - what happens if she fails?