In the storm-drenched city of Verdigris, home to indolent sorcerers and spectral hotels, something is dreadfully wrong. Buildings are starting to crumble due to the kidnapping of their hobs, the many legged house spirits that keep each home in order. In such times, one would ordinarily blame the Devil, but he has been enchanted by a new and enticing evil: The jackbooted villainy of Gwendolyn Gooch, who has taken the hobs for her latest diabolical scheme—apartments for rent. As the hobs retrofit the gaudy Gooch Towers, the fate of the city lies in the hands of the arboreal Professor Green; his rare, complete set of the Household Gramarye; and its famulus, the prim Mrs. Bobkins.