Some would kill to know what Caitlin Vasaro knows. For the secrets she's kept hidden all her life are the kind the rich and powerful will do anything to possess. But not even Caitlin knows how much danger she is in--or how far someone will go to hunt her down.

Thirteen-year-old Lemony Snicket begins his apprenticeship with S. Theodora Markson of the secretive V.F.D. in the tiny dot of a town called Stain'd By The Sea, where he helps investigate the theft of a statue.

"A community is devastated when the bronze statue of local legend Mama Cuento is stolen on Valentine's Day. When Lexy Campbell arrives on the scene, a big bronze toe is found along with a ransom note--'Listen to our demands or you will never see her again. There are nine more where this came from.' Then, Lexy's ex-husband Bran turns up begging for help to find his wife, Brandee, who has disappeared. Lexy agrees to pitch in, but when she shows up at...