Fifteen-year-old Sinclair Vox is a storyteller: ever since he was little, he has been scribbling in notebooks, trying to pen an epic. Now, someone has brought to life an eldritch plague which robs the sound from the world, and Sinclair is the only one in his hometown who still has his voice. Confronted by the realization that his story has preserved him, Sinclair sets out to find a story strong enough to rid his home of the Silence forever. Guided by a magazine editor whose past is shrouded in mystery and pursued by a woman who can spread the Silence with a wave of her hand, Sinclair must travel to the Island City of Rieve, where a secret may be lurking that could dispel the darkness and save his family. In pursuit of one secret, however, Sinclair will uncover a host of others, and will ultimately find himself standing beside Sarah Averielle, the governor's daughter, at the center of a plot to take over the Island City, a battle for the country of North Decting, and a nine-year-long quest for vengeance. Out of the chaos emerges a horror more terrifying than he could ever have imagined, and Sinclair must find a way to save himself, his family, and his hometown before the Silence crushes the life out of an entire country. In the end, he will discover that the only story that can stand against the Silence is his own.