Slightly pudgy and rather endearing, Charlie Adore has just returned to the southern shores of the world of Nod, where he hopes to resolve on what he wants to do with his life. Should he become a tough, booze-swilling pilot like his father and grandfather, or is a teaching career like his mother's more his calling? As Charlie considers this important question, his grandfather arranges a swine-hunting expedition for Charlie and his uncle James. It's a great chance to reconnect and hang out, and the three hunters bag their share of swine. The next morning, however, most of the dead swine-and all the rum-are gone, devoured by a lion-like "beastlie" named Rayden. For the safety of the people of the shore, Charlie, his grandfather, and Uncle James must discover if more beastlies like Rayden exist and, if so, whether they represent a dangerous threat. To do so, they must make a daring trek to a whole new land, where a paranoid king lords it over Rayden's starving citizens. It looks like war is coming to Nod's southern hemisphere-and only chubby Charlie Adore and his drunken grandfather stand in its path.