After nearly being killed by the disembodied Scorpion at the end of the previous school year, Dan Regal has more than earned a quiet summer alone at Snisnar - his solitude interrupted only for private lessons each morning with Mr. Loeren on the bank of the school pond. But his reprieve is not destined to last, and in September the other students return to Snisnar to commence their studies. Almost as soon as the rest of the school has returned, strange things begin to happen (strange even for Snisnar), and before long, it becomes quite clear that the Scorpion did indeed survive his encounter with Dan last spring, and has set himself to killing Dan once and for all. As if having the Scorpion after him were not enough, there is also a new teacher at the school who makes Ms. Virgus look like a cute, cuddly long-eared jerboa - and this teacher seems to have it in for Dan and his friends. There are also whispers going around the school of a long-lost heirloom of Steven Noricin's; a goblet that, according to legend, has the power to grant immortality to its drinker, and it seems as if the Scorpion is now seeking out this relic so that it may aid him in his return to power. Will Dan be able to find the Gottlehrling Goblet before the Scorpion gets his hands on it?