The story begins when the Scarecrow goes to search for his family roots and discovers that he is the Long Lost Emperor of the Silver Island -- and how he was rescued and brought back to Oz by Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion.
Really! In another life, the Scarecrow was the Long Lost Emperor of the Silver Island. . . . Maybe he was. Who knows? Maybe not. But in retrospect, this is the first Oz book that actually shows us death, albeit of a peculiar sort: before the Scarecrow was reincarnated as the fluff-headed fellow we all know and love, he was the Emperor of Silver Island. Which was underground. -- Exactly beneath that cornfield where Dorothy first found him. But there are pictures of the place and the pictures don't look dark enough to be set in a kingdom made of caves. . . . Hrrrm.