Eliot asks Julia to help them save Fillory. Quentin attempts to get through to Alice again, but she's not interested. Eliot reminds him that Fillory needs him. 

Penny's dying. The professors might be able to find a cure, but he only has a few weeks to live. Kady's struggling with what she did to John, and asks Penny to run away with her. He gets called to the library. Even though he's dying, the librarian wants his help. Kady turns to Harriet for a cure. She promises to be a go between and to trick Penny into giving her any information Harriet needs.

Margo and Josh find Fen, who's daughter has been taken by the fairies. Margo makes a deal with the fairy queen to send her back to Fillory. It costs her an eye. Eliot returns as well and kicks Prince Ess off his throne. The king is restored to human form and shares a kiss with Eliot. Things are tense between Margo and Eliot, but they agree to put Fillory first.

Umber forces Quentin to travel to his new pocket world formerly known as Cuba. Quentin points out the world could use chaos. In Fillory, Margo, Josh, and Eliot lure Ember to the castle with little cakes and a party. He wants to see Fillory destroyed. Julia breaks open the pocket world and Quentin and Umber are in Fillory. Ember ends up killing his brother. Julia distracts Ember and Quentin kills him.

Back in the real world, Quentin seduces Alice with a plate of bacon. They get back together, but Alice panics when Quentin tells her that he killed Umber. There are other gods out there. A plumber arrives at Brakebills and cuts off their magic. The same thing happens at Brakebills South, in the library, and in Fillory.

Two months later, the students are in school. There's no magic. Josh asks Dean Fogg about rumors, but he says none of them are true. Magic is gone. In Fillory, the fairies take over the castle after Eliot and Margo argued over democratic rule or contiuing to have a monarchy. Joseph returns to warn Alice an enemy she made as a Niffin is after her. Finally, Julia, who dropped out of law school, finds Quentin and shows him that she can still do magic.