When Granny Relda took in the sisters, Sabrina was sure the old woman was one of the crazies. First, their grandmother was supposed to be dead. Second, Relda moved the girls to a little town on the Hudson River called Ferryport Landing, miles from civilization. Third, and most astounding, was that she claimed that her neighbors were all fairy-tale characters. Granny
Relda was convinced that the mayor was Prince Charming, the Three Little Pigs ran the police department, witches served pancakes at the diner, and ogres delivered the mail. She also claimed that Sabrina and Daphne were the last living descendants of Jacob and Wilhelm, the Brothers Grimm, whose book of fairy tales wasn't fiction but an account of actual events and the beginning of a record kept by each new generation of the family. Granny said it was the Grimm legacy to investigate any unusual crimes and to keep an eye on the mischief-making fairy-tale folk, also known as Everafters. In a nutshell, the girls were the next in a long line of "fairy-tale detectives."
After hearing Granny Relda's wild tale, Sabrina was sure her "grandmother" had forgotten to take her medication--that is, until a giant came along and kidnapped the old woman. Suddenly, her stories held a lot more weight.
After the sisters Grimm rescued their grandmother, they agreed to become fairy-tale detectives--Daphne enthusiastically, Sabrina reluctantly--and plunged headfirst into investigating the other freaky felonies of their new hometown.
Daphne loved every minute of their new lives. What seven-year-old wouldn't want to live in a town filled with bedtime stories come to life? But Sabrina couldn't get used to the strange people they encountered. She also distrusted the Everafters, and it was no secret that the community felt the same way about her family. Most thought the Grimms were meddlers. Others just downright despised them. Sabrina really couldn't blame them. After all, the Everafters were trapped in Ferryport Landing and it was her family's fault. Two hundred years prior, Wilhelm Grimm had constructed a magical barrier around the town in an effort to quell an Everafter rebellion against their human neighbors. And since then, the Everafters, whether good or bad, had been prisoners, and the Grimms, many felt, had been their prison guards.
But the real reason Sabrina didn't trust the Everafters was the red handprint the police had discovered on her missing parents' car. It was the mark of a secret Everafter organization called "the Scarlet Hand." No one knew who its members were, or the identity of the mysterious Master who was its leader.
A recent confrontation with Red Riding Hood, an agent of the Scarlet Hand, had led to the recovery of Sabrina and Daphne's missing parents. Unfortunately, Henry and Veronica were under a sleeping spell that the family didn't know how to break.
Puck, a family friend, had been injured helping the Grimm sisters fight the demented Red Riding Hood and her ferocious pet, the Jabberwocky. The monster had ripped off Puck's fairy wings, and now he was dangerously ill. Luckily for Puck, the Vorpal blade, which the Grimms had used to kill the Jabberwocky, could cut through anything, including the magical barrier around Ferryport Landing. Leaving Henry and Veronica in safekeeping, Sabrina, Daphne, Granny Relda, and their trusted friends had set out with the sick boy, using the Vorpal blade to cut a hole big enough for the family car to drive through. Now they were on their way to Faerie, home of Puck's family, whom they hoped could make the young fairy well again.
Sabrina sighed, shifted in her seat, and wondered for the hundredth time when they'd get to Faerie. Then out of the corner of her eye she spotted blue-and-red lights flashing in the window behind them. Mr. Canis pulled the car over to the side of the road and turned off the engine.
"What's going on?" Sabrina asked.
"We're being pulled over by the police," Granny said. She and Mr. Canis shared a concerned look.
There was a tap on Mr. Canis's window. The old man rolled it down and a very angry police officer, wearing a short navy blue coat and sunglasses, peeked inside. He eyed the family suspiciously.
"Do you know why I pulled you over?" he said. "Were we speeding?" Mr. Canis asked.
"Oh, I didn't pull you over for speeding. I pulled you over because this… this tank you're driving is violating at least a hundred different environmental and safety laws. Let me see your driver's license."
Mr. Canis glanced at Granny Relda and then turned back to the policeman. "I'm afraid I don't have one."
The policeman laughed, seemingly in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me. OK, folks, everyone step out of the car."
"Officer, I'm sure we can--"
The officer bent down. His smile was gone. "Step out of the car.
Granny turned in her seat to look at the girls and Mr. Hamstead. "OK, let's get out of the car."
Daphne was still sound asleep, so Sabrina shook her until the little girl opened her eyes.
"Whazzabigidea?" Daphne grumbled.
"Get up, we're going to jail," Sabrina said, helping her out of the car.