"Some horror stories come true."

When 16-year-old Belle Fortune's loathsome aunt sends her to a charity school in nearby Glass Town, Belle rejoices. But not for long.

Because at the Glass Town Establishment for Girls, imaginations starve.

Mr. Glass, the school's benefactor, doesn't believe in imagination for young girls. Young girls must attend only to their proper duties.

Belle Fortune could care less about being proper. She loves to imagine adventures for her fictional heroine, Penny Dreadful, who fights many mythological monsters.

But there are monsters in the real world that are worse than anything Belle can dream up.

She must use all her courage and imagination to save herself from Mr. Glass and the dark secrets that lie buried in Glass Town.