Girl Discovers the Book She’s Reading is Magical and Full of Secrets.
A girl stumbles upon a book that seems ordinary at first, but she soon realizes it holds magical powers and hidden secrets. As she dives deeper, the book transforms her life, unraveling mysteries she never thought possible.
‘SPOILER ALERT’
The movie begins with two parents, the mother Resa and the father Mortimer, trying to make their daughter sleep. Mortimer decides to read their daughter a bedtime story. Resa tells him that she is too little to understand, but Mortimer insists on reading. As he reads the story of Little Red Riding Hood, he feels something and asks Resa if she also feels it; she is oblivious. Suddenly, a red clock flies from the sky and rests by the window, and Mortimer turns to see it.
Twelve years later, Mortimer and his daughter Meggie are on the road. Meggie looks at a map and tells him the way while he drives. They finally reach the place they are going to and get out of the car. Meggie asks why they always go to old bookstores and why they can’t go to modern ones with new books, but Mortimer tells her there is no point in going to new bookstores as a bookbinder.
As they look around, Meggie asks if he is going to find the book, he’s looking for here, but Mortimer acts surprised and tells her he doesn’t look for any particular book. Meggie persists because he always checks a bookstore thoroughly and gets disappointed when he doesn’t find what he’s looking for. Mortimer denies this and walks into a bookstore, leaving Meggie to look around.
Inside the bookstore, the owner greets him, calling him book doctor, and Mortimer asks to look around. He goes to the bookshelves that are stacked with books. Mortimer starts looking through them, and whispers from the books start to be heard. Unfazed, he keeps looking.
Finally, he finds what he’s looking for, a book called Inkheart. At the same time, a man approaches Meggie. She tries to walk away, startled, but the man tells her he’s not a stranger and that she probably doesn’t remember him because she was so little when they met before. Meggie looks at him with suspicion, but Mortimer arrives and sees the man talking to her.
He walks to them, and seeing him, the man calls him “Silvertongue.” Mortimer orders Meggie to wait for him in the van. After she goes, the man, Dustfinger, asks if they can walk and talk, and they start walking. Mortimer asks what Dustfinger wants, and he tells him that he must fix the wrong he did nine years ago. Capricorn also knows where he lives, and he and his men are currently waiting for Mortimer there. Dustfinger wants Mortimer to read for him.
Mortimer refuses, saying that he doesn’t read aloud anymore. Dustfinger insists that Mortimer read for him and send him back to where he came from. He then asks where the book is, but Mortimer denies having it. He then punches Dustfinger and rushes to the van. He finds Meggie, who was overhearing the conversation, and takes her to the van. Dustfinger follows from behind, trying to tell them he’s trying to help them.
In the car, Meggie asks what was going on, but Mortimer refuses to tell her anything. He tells her he will protect her and that they are heading to her aunt’s house, where she will stay for a while. Meggie, realizing her father isn’t going to tell her anything, drops the idea.
They reach Meggie’s aunt’s house. Elinor opens the door and welcomes them. As they sit to talk, Elinor tells Mortimer that she’s glad he’s here because her books need fixing. She then starts to ask about Resa, but Mortimer stops her and tells her they haven’t heard from her at all. Elinor brushes it off, saying that a child can grow without a mother, and proceeds to tell how the women in her family like adventures.
Meggie, frustrated, asks if she can call her mother, leaving abruptly an adventure. Elinor simply tells her that it’s abandonment. Hearing this, Meggie angrily storms off from the dining table. Mortimer follows Meggie outside, and Meggie asks about her mother. She’s not a child anymore and can handle the truth. She also thinks the book he wants is related to her mother, but Mortimer refuses to tell her anything. As they talk while sitting, Meggie tells Mortimer that she sometimes writes about her mother, but he doesn’t like the idea, saying written words are powerful.
Later, Meggie goes to Elinor’s library and sees a manuscript in a glass box. She approaches it, but Elinor screams from behind, telling her not to touch it. Meggie tries to calm her down, saying she’s only there to get a book to read, but Elinor is fixated on the manuscript. Meggie then looks at it and starts to share her predictions about when it was made and that it’s from Persia, impressing Elinor. Elinor then shares her story about traveling—she’s been to Persia and, before that, she studied in Paris, telling Meggie all the places she’s been to.
Meggie then asks if she can stay here and read a book, promising Elinor she won’t ruin anything. Elinor allows her, and she sits by the window, reading. As she reads, she starts hearing whispers, and startled, she goes to investigate. Meanwhile, Mortimer, who is going through the book he found, is interrupted by Dustfinger. Dustfinger tells him that when Mortimer refused to help him, he turned to Capricorn. Before Mortimer processes what Dustfinger says, he hears glass shattering and runs.
In the library, Elinor runs and tells Meggie that men are trying to break into the house. When Mortimer reaches the library, Capricorn’s men have turned it upside down. Dustfinger goes to one of them and threatens him with fire from his hands, reminding him of their deal about no one getting hurt. Mortimer tells them to leave his family alone, but the men refuse and take Meggie as leverage to make Mortimer read to them. Mortimer angrily confronts Dustfinger and takes Inkheart back from Dustfinger’s pocket.
The others take the book from Mortimer and hit him from behind, making him faint. Outside, the men burn all the books from Elinor’s library, devastating her. They then take them to a car, and as they walk, Dustfinger grabs a book that is not burned yet and gives it to Meggie, but she walks away without taking it.
Inside the car, Mortimer gains consciousness and asks where he is. Elinor and Meggie are also in the car. After a lot of driving, they reach a place with strange landscapes. They stop near an old building, and Basta leads them inside. Inside are different animals, like unicorns and flying monkeys, that are not from this world.
They put them in an empty room and lock them inside. Elinor angrily asks where the animals come from, and Mortimer finally reveals the truth. The animals come from a book. One day, Elinor was away at a book fair, so Mortimer came to stay with his wife and daughter to house-sit. While they are there, Mortimer starts reading a book he bought. There are different characters in the book.
Initially, nothing happens as he reads, but then suddenly, wind fills the room, and Capricorn from the book arrives. He is a thuggish bandit working with an evil duke in the book. Then, after him, Basta, his knife-wielding sidekick, and Dustfinger, a traveling fire juggler with magical powers, follow. Mortimer’s words brought them out of the book. When they get out, the book takes Resa, and she gets sucked inside. Capricorn attacks them, but Dustfinger saves them. When he notices that Resa is not in the house, he calls out to her, but she is gone, pulled into the book.
After that, Mortimer stops reading books to anyone. Meggie asks if he’s going to try and read her out of the book, and he confirms. Meggie asks how he can be sure that her mother is in the book, and most of all, how she is going to survive for nine years in that kind of world. But before he can answer, they are taken out of there to be brought to Capricorn.
They are led to a castle, which Elinor criticizes for its bad architecture. As they walk down the hallway, they pass different paintings of wars and violence. Then, they finally enter a room where Capricorn is waiting for them. He greets them, and Mortimer bitterly remarks that Capricorn now has a castle. Capricorn tells him this world is rather good for him. He then orders his reader to read a book, but the reader reminds him that Capricorn promised he wouldn’t read any longer when Mortimer arrived. Capricorn mocks him, saying that was a lie, and orders him to read.
The reader starts to read about Rapunzel, and they hear a young woman running in the hallway, trying to get away from Capricorn’s men. She has letters written on her face because she is half-read. Capricorn then orders his men to take her away and locks her in the dungeon. He then asks for a book to be brought and asks Mortimer to read it. Mortimer refuses, but Capricorn threatens him with Meggie, so he finally agrees. What Capricorn wants Mortimer to read is a book about treasure, and he wants him to read the treasures out into this world.
Mortimer warns Capricorn, saying that he doesn’t know what will happen and has no control over what is going to happen by reading the book. Capricorn, staying nonchalant, tells him he wants it to be a surprise. Mortimer starts reading the book, and sand starts pouring into the house. Then, as he keeps reading, gold coins begin to pour. Capricorn and his men cheer, looking at the coins. But suddenly, a man also comes into this world along with the gold. At the same time, one of Capricorn’s men gets sucked into the book.
Dustfinger then reminds them that he also needs to be read back. Mortimer tells him that he doesn’t know how to read someone back into a book, and Capricorn interrupts, telling them that they don’t want to go back to their world because they are living well in this one. After a lot of arguing, Capricorn throws Inkheart into the fire.
Dustfinger runs to save it, but his men apprehend him. He manages to break free and get the book, but he is quickly overpowered, and Capricorn throws the book into the fire again. Dustfinger watches the book burn, with no other option.
Mortimer and the others go back to the place where they are staying. There, they see a big animal, and Elinor gets startled, but Darius reassures them that the animal is not dangerous. Dustfinger goes to another place where there are a lot of maids working for Capricorn in chains. Among them is Resa. When she sees his hands are burned, she quickly tries to help him. He tells her that he held Inkheart in his hands, but it is now ashes. Resa can’t speak because Darius didn’t read her voice out, so she is here, but her voice is left behind in the book. She puts his hands in ice to cool him off.
Back in the barn, the young man who was read along with the coins is nervous, trying to reassure himself that it’s only a dream. Seeing this, Meggie tries to calm him down and asks his name. He tells her his name is Farid. When she asks if he is one of the forty thieves, he scolds her not to talk because talking in a dream is not a good thing. She shrugs it off, saying she’s only trying to help him calm down.
The next morning, Dustfinger wakes up from a dream where his wife is asking him to come back. He sees Resa taking off the bandage he had on. He thanks her and asks what he could possibly do to repay her. She shows him her chains, telling him that she wants to be free. He asks where she would go if she were free, and she takes out a piece of paper with a drawing on it. The drawing is of Mortimer and Meggie. Seeing this, Dustfinger asks if they are her family, and she confirms. He is shocked, and seeing this, Resa writes, asking if he has seen them. Dustfinger realizes she went inside the book when he came and was read back out by Darius. Dustfinger then tells her he will set her free and reunite her with her family.
Dustfinger goes out and sees the guard sleeping. He sends his pet, Gwin to fetch the key from her, and it takes it and goes back to Resa. Resa takes the key and unlocks her shackles. Meanwhile, Dustfinger goes to Mortimer. As he is about to open the door, he hears Meggie saying there might be another copy of Inkheart. He then enters and asks if they can reach an agreement. If they think there is a copy of Inkheart, they will find it together, and Dustfinger will go to his home, and Resa will come back.
Mortimer asks how they will escape, and Dustfinger takes out a book and tells him to read page 14. Mortimer starts reading that page, and then the wind starts to get stronger. A tornado appears, which distracts the guards. Resa also gets out and starts to run, but she falls into a hole. Dustfinger, Mortimer, Elinor, and Meggie also get out of the place they were in and start running. Dustfinger falls, and when he is about to get up, he sees Resa trying to get out of the hole. She asks for his help, but he ignores her and runs with the others, leaving her in the hole.
They get into a van and drive away as the place gets destroyed by the tornado they brought. They keep driving and reach a town. They are going to visit the writer of Inkheart. As they reach the place, Dustfinger doesn’t want to go with them. He doesn’t want to know the end of his story because he wants to live it instead. Meggie asks him why he doesn’t want to know, and he likens it to opening the last page of a mystery book. It’s like spoiling the ending.
As they talk, Elinor interrupts and tells them she wants to go back home and fix the ruined books. Mortimer tells her he will do it, but she wants to go. She has already bought her ticket, and she gives Mortimer money and kisses Meggie before leaving. After she goes, Meggie and Mortimer go to the writer, Fenoglio. They ring the doorbell, and he opens it. Thinking they came for an autograph, he asks them for a pen, but Meggie tells him that they escaped from Capricorn and adds that Basta did a lot of things. Hearing this, Fenoglio looks at them, smiling at the ridiculousness of their words.
Meanwhile, Farid changes into another set of clothes and wears modern clothing. Dustfinger then starts to look around and sees a circus in front of him, which reminds him of his home.
Mortimer and Meggie walk with Fenoglio, trying to convince him that what they are saying is true, but he thinks they are joking. He tells them that his characters are written very well, and they might seem like they are indeed existing, but that’s not how it is. When they reach the place where they left Farid and Dustfinger, they see Dustfinger doing a fire trick.
Seeing this, Fenoglio says this is exactly how he imagined Dustfinger to look. He wants to go and talk to him, but Meggie and Mortimer try to stop him, saying he doesn’t want to meet him, but he insists and goes to Dustfinger. When he calls him, Dustfinger tries to get away and hides behind Mortimer. Mortimer tells Fenoglio that Dustfinger is scared of him because he is scared to know the ending of the book.
At this time, Fenoglio loudly says, “Is it because he dies at the end?” Hearing this, Dustfinger sits in sadness. He asks how he dies and Fenoglio tells him that he dies trying to save Gwin. But then he changes his mind because if he were living according to the book, he wouldn’t be here. He then threatens Fenoglio to get them a copy of Inkheart. Fenoglio takes them to his house and goes up to the attic.
There are lots of books, but there is no Inkheart. The remaining copies have been stolen or burned, or something happened to them. It’s at this point that Fenoglio realizes Capricorn has something to do with all the incidents. But finally, they find the original manuscript. Dustfinger excitedly asks Mortimer to read him back into the book, and Mortimer tells him he will read his wife out first. At this point, Dustfinger realizes he can’t hide the truth anymore.
Dustfinger tells them they can’t bring Resa back because she is already here. Darius has already read her back into the world. Angrily, Mortimer asks where she is now, but Dustfinger is only willing to help him if he reads him back into the book. Finally, Dustfinger tells him she is in Capricorn’s village, and they decide to go there together. They borrow Fenoglio’s car and leave Farid and Meggie with him
Elinor is about to go home, and as she is about to get on a train, she sees a family walking and remembers her own. She then decides not to go and stays behind as the train departs.
Later that night, Meggie sits in the house but hears a whisper from a book that was saved from burning. She goes over to it and starts reading from it. She brings a black dog called Toto. Toto runs and hides under the bed. At this time, Fenoglio comes into the room and knocks. She goes to open the door and encounters Fenoglio with Basta and another of Capricorn’s men.
They get inside the room and threaten her, demanding to know where Mortimer is, or they will kill her. Fenoglio then sees Toto and realizes that she can also bring characters from the book. He says this out loud, and Basta hears it, deciding to take her with him, saying that she is another Silvertongue.
On the ride, Mortimer asks if Resa is fine since Darius is a bad reader because of his stuttering. Dustfinger tells him that she is fine, mostly, and when asked what he means by that, he reveals that she doesn’t have a voice. Suddenly, Dustfinger asks Mortimer to stop the car and goes to the trunk, opening it. Inside is Farid. Farid defends himself, saying Fenoglio is mean, and he doesn’t want to stay with him, and Dustfinger allows him to come with them.
Meanwhile, Elinor goes to Fenoglio’s house looking for Mortimer and Meggie, but no one is there. She searches the house and finds the book Meggie was reading.
Mortimer, Dustfinger, and Farid reach Capricorn’s village and try to sneak in through the back. To reach the back, they climb onto the roof, but Mortimer slips and is seen by Capricorn’s men. They manage to run and escape, and Mortimer goes up. He stumbles upon Resa’s room and goes in to look through her things. He then finds her sketchbook, picks it up, and sees drawings of the family.
Outside, Farid and Dustfinger are waiting for Mortimer. Farid is trying to learn Dustfinger’s magic with fire, and he finally starts to succeed. As they wait, Capricorn’s men find them. Farid manages to escape, but Dustfinger gets caught. Basta tells Dustfinger that he is just in time for his execution and takes him to the castle. They bring him to Capricorn. As he walks, Resa, who is hanging in a net, pulls him closer. He tells her that her husband is here and is going to rescue her.
Inside the room, Capricorn is making Meggie read and bringing lots of things from a book to test if she is really a Silvertongue. Fenoglio tells him he is exactly how he wrote him. Capricorn then reveals his plan: he is going to bring the dangerous character, Shadow, from the book, and Shadow will stay in this world, powerful. Meggie tells him he cannot do that because he already burned all the copies of the book, but he has another copy hidden with him. He keeps it in a box under snakes to protect it. He then takes it out and tells Meggie she is going to read Shadow into this world.
Meggie tells Capricorn that she will not read anything for him. Capricorn then takes her to where Resa is. Meggie doesn’t recognize her at first, but then she calls her “Mum” and runs to her. Capricorn makes fun of them, saying it’s such an emotional moment, and turns to Meggie to ask her if she really isn’t going to read for him. Meggie realizes she has no choice. He then orders his men to take them to the dungeons, and they are taken there.
Dustfinger is locked in another room. Meggie and Fenoglio are also placed in another room. The dungeons are inside a cemetery. Meggie tells Dustfinger that Capricorn is going to make her read Shadow out of the book. When he realizes that she is also a Silvertongue, he asks if she can read him back into the book too. Meanwhile, Fenoglio is trying to write. Meggie suggests that he write that Shadow kills Capricorn, using the situation to their advantage.
At that moment, Basta comes with food for Meggie. He tells her Capricorn wants her to be strong for tomorrow. Fenoglio asks Basta if he would like to stay because they are telling ghost stories. He wrote Basta to be scared of ghost stories, and this freaks Basta out. Gwin then sneaks out of the cell and steals Basta’s pouch. He tries to take it to Dustfinger, who gets inside the cell where Dustfinger is locked up and takes out his knife to threaten him.
Dustfinger then starts telling him ghost stories and curses him using the bodies in the coffins. Basta gets scared, and using that moment, Dustfinger escapes from the cell and locks Basta in. He tries to open the door of the cell where Meggie and Fenoglio are but is unable to do so. He tries to use his fire, but it still isn’t working. Basta starts calling for the other guards, so with no other option, Dustfinger leaves them there and runs from the cellar. Fenoglio tries to convince him that he is more than how he wrote him and should stay to save them, but Dustfinger is already out.
Dustfinger gets out, but he feels bad about leaving them and walks back. At the same time, Elinor is coming to Capricorn’s village, already regretting her decision. Dustfinger starts to go back but encounters Capricorn’s men and hides. He hides next to a room where Mortimer and Farid are, and they pull him in. Farid happily hugs him. Dustfinger tells Mortimer that both Meggie and Resa are fine, but Capricorn is going to read the shadow out of the book. He then reveals that Meggie is a Silvertongue.
Back in the cellar, Fenoglio is writing lore stories for Inkheart. Suddenly, Capricorn’s men barge in to take Meggie. Fenoglio asks where they are taking her, and they tell him that she is going to read the shadow out, and he is going to be invited too so the shadow can feed on him. They then drag Meggie out.
Mortimer, Dustfinger, and Farid are trying to come up with a plan to rescue Meggie and Resa. Mortimer tells Dustfinger to use his fire to cause destruction, and they agree to burn the castle. Farid, with his new ability to start a fire, suggests that they also let him help, but Dustfinger warns him not to get in his way. When the fire starts, Mortimer will get inside to rescue his family. Farid reminds them that they are outnumbered and Capricorn has guns, but they tell him they will disguise themselves as Capricorn’s men.
Meggie wears a white dress and is taken to a house full of people. They all cheer as she walks by them. She sees Resa and Fenoglio standing in a cage. Capricorn announces that they will be reunited with their people after years. Mortimer, Dustfinger, and Farid sneak in and attack Capricorn’s men. Meanwhile, Elinor gets inside the barn and finds Darius. She tells him that if he wants to escape from there, he must help her, and he agrees.
Meggie is given the book and starts to read it. She then sees Mortimer from above but doesn’t react in any way. Fenoglio gives Toto a paper he wrote earlier to pass to Meggie. Mortimer tries to stop Meggie from reading because the shadow starts appearing, but it is already here. Toto gives Meggie the piece of paper, and she starts reading from it. The shadow starts to calm down and turns to Capricorn to attack him instead. At the same time, Farid and Dustfinger are burning the castle.
Elinor arrives with a horse and all the other animals from the barn, adding to the chaos. Mortimer tells Meggie to read to change the story, but there is nothing for her to read, so he passes her a pen so that she can write her own. Meggie starts writing her own story. She changes Capricorn’s story, turning him into a statue and then ash.
She also makes the shadow disappear. She continues and sends all those who came into this world without their will and are now in her sight back to where they belong. They all return to their world. Finally, Fenoglio asks her to set him free too, and she sends him to the place he always imagined, and he disappears.
Dustfinger sees this and realizes he missed the opportunity to go back to his home. Farid tells him Mortimer will help him, but Dustfinger is skeptical. Resa gets her voice back, and the family embraces her in happiness.
Meggie sees that the book is gone but the castle is collapsing, so they decide to leave. Farid goes to Dustfinger and gives him the book he stole from Meggie. He tells Dustfinger they will find another reader who will send him back to his world. Dustfinger, noticing that Farid likes Meggie, tells him he will not see her again if he comes with him, and Farid shows him the picture of Meggie he stole from Mortimer.
Dustfinger then agrees to keep him with him, and they start to walk in the woods. Mortimer runs behind them and calls out, saying that he promised, and now it’s his turn. He starts reading the book, and Dustfinger finds himself back in his world. Resa and Meggie come running to them, but Dustfinger is already gone.
They ask Farid what he is going to do, and he tells them he can’t follow him because he kept Gwin here so that Dustfinger wouldn’t die trying to save it. Meggie suggests Farid stay with them, and Mortimer agrees. Then, the family starts walking out of the woods to go home, leaving the ordeal behind.
The story teaches the value of courage and collaboration in overcoming challenges. It shows the importance of using one’s abilities to shape reality, while also emphasizing the need for responsibility.