The Trials of Morrigan Crow

Three days before her funeral, Morrigan finds a dead cat in her backyard. Cook adds the cat’s death to a growing list of unfortunate events that the townspeople blame her for. When she attends a monthly meeting with her father Corvus and her new caseworker, the caseworker goes over a list of similar complaints that demand either financial compensation or written apologies. People believe Morrigan is “cursed” and causes disasters. By the end of the meeting, Corvus decides to cease her education since she is destined to die within the following year—at the age of 12.

While Morrigan writes the necessary apology letters, she listens to a news report of a potential Wunder (energy source) shortage. People fear cursed children, like Morrigan, are to blame for the crisis; the Wundrous Society (an elite magical school) denies there is a shortage. Before Morrigan turns off the radio, she hears one final report: Eventide, her birthday, may be coming earlier than expected.

That evening at dinner, Morrigan learns about Bid Day—when educational institutions choose students to sponsor. She asks her father Corvus if she can attend, and he initially refuses; however, his assistants, Left and Right, suggest it might bolster political support.

Morrigan’s father Corvus reminds her to not cause “incidents.” Her Bid Day excitement fades into jealousy as more students receive bids for a future she will never have. However, she receives an unprecedented four offers. Once the Lord Mayor finishes the ceremony, Morrigan goes to the interview chamber to speak with her first bidder, Mr. Jones. He is the assistant of Ezra Squall, owner of Squall Industries—the primary creator of Wunder in the Republic (Morrigan’s original home). Before she can agree to anything, the Lord Mayor informs her that no bidders have arrived because each bid was fake; in reality, two are genuine bids. When she tries to reveal Mr. Jones, he disappears before anyone else can see him. Corvus drags Morrigan out of the town hall, tearing up her bid letters.

As Morrigan and her father leave the town hall, crowds swarm the streets as bells ring. Eventide comes a year earlier than anticipated—meaning Morrigan will die tomorrow. She lays in bed that night, listening to the bells ring until midnight, when they suddenly stop. A man named Jupiter North slides another bid letter and contract under her door, offering her a chance to join the Wundrous Society.

Dinner at the Crow residence is a solemn affair. Cook makes Morrigan’s favorite dinner, including parsnips, which her father Corvus hates. Corvus stands up to give a speech about her life but discusses the quality of the lamb meat instead. After, Morrigan’s stepmother announces she’s pregnant. She does not understand why this news upsets Morrigan, who feels her family is erasing her from their history. They start to argue when there’s a knock at the door.

Jupiter North forces his way into the house and informs the family that he has come to collect Morrigan. She signed the contract she received and then swiftly burned it. Corvus tells Jupiter to leave so they can mourn Morrigan in peace, and her grandmother says Wundrous contracts are illegal. Jupiter performs magic to convince the family that a fallen curtain is Morrigan’s dead body, and then takes her away from the Crow household.

Jupiter guides Morrigan to the third floor of her family’s home, where he tells her to jump out a window and aim for the skylight on a large spider-shaped machine—an arachnipod that he calls Octavia. As they jump, the Hunt of Smoke and Shadow (an Ezra Squall creation) enters the room behind them. The Hunt comes to end Morrigan’s life, but Jupiter wants to help her escape and return “home.” He drives Octavia to the town center and up a clocktower, climbing through the clock and into a new world where the Hunt cannot follow them—Nevermoor.