Abandoned, neglected, and sitting atop Hathorne Hill, Danvers Asylum for the Insane towers above modern-day Danvers, Massachusetts. When November Atwood and her twin cousins, Jeff and wheelchair-bound Hawk, discover a strangely-marked wooden box long-buried in the asylum's shadows, they unwittingly set in motion events leading to the culmination of a diabolical pact signed more than three hundred years ago-when Danvers was Salem Village and witchcraft was a hanging offense. The cryptic clues on an old vellum document, along with a curious gold coin found inside the box, prompt the trio to venture into the tunnels beneath the asylum, where Jeff is struck by elf-shot, abducted, and replaced by a changeling.
With the aid of a gnome called Dynnis, the pair embark on a journey through the treacherous tunnels and into the Hill of Hathorne. They encounter Hob, the keeper of the Room of Rings, an enormous portal that carries them back in time to Salem Village, current date 1701. Can November summon the courage to bargain her soul to spare the souls of those hanged for witchcraft in 1692? For she is the only one who holds the key in November in Salem: The Bargain of Witches.