Inkheart is a teen fantasy story about a twelve year old girl named Meggie that lived peacefully with her bookbinding father, Mortimer (or Mo for short).  One day, Meggie looks out her window in the middle of the night to see a strange man, staring at her.

Frightened, Meggie runs to tell Mo.  She soon finds out that the man’s name was Dustfinger and that he knew Mo.  Eavesdropping on their conversation, Meggie learns about a mysterious book called Inkheart and a man named Capricorn, who wanted to get his hands on it.  

The next day, the father and daughter, – accompanied by Dustfinger – rode up to Meggie’s great-aunt, Elinor’s, house, leaving the book in her possession.  A few uneventful nights pass by as Mortimer restores some of Elinor’s books. One night, however, the mystery man, Capricorn, breaks in and demands Inkheart, taking it along with Mo.

Secretly, however, Elinor had switched out the book for another one.  Elinor, Meggie, and Dustfinger make a plan to trade the real book for Mo, but once they get to Capricorn’s village, they are thrown into prison with Mo.

In the dark of the cell, Mo tells Meggie the truth; he unintentionally read Dustfinger, Capricorn, and Capricorn’s henchman – Basta – out of the world of Inkheart nine years ago, her mother and two cats taking their place.

Read Inkheart by Cornelia Funke to find out what happens next!