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Hooters, Hatters, and menacing evil...

Even in a mystical world where centuries ago animals were magically changed into humans, the land of Makasar is considered strange. Its two major religions are Hatters and Hooters. During the day, Hatters, wearing hats of course, wander about jabbing pointy sticks into bystanders. The night is ruled by the Hooters, who hoot and set fire to people and things. Hospitality is considered a capital crime. And Newlies, the humanized animals, are treated lower than scum.

So when Finn, the Master Lizard Maker, finds himself stranded in Makasar--along with his lover, an attractive Newlie named Letitia, and the grandest, most magical creation of his illustrious career, a talking, thinking, rather cantankerous mechanical lizard named Julia Jessica Slagg--his first thought is a quick exit.

But the Nuccis--strongman son, mad father, and ever madder grandfather--have other plans for Finn and his loyal companions. There's an odd machine in their basement that needs fixing, and who better to do it than a Master Lizard Maker? There's more here than meets the eye, however, and Finn soon realizes that the future he faces could be very dark indeed.

In a magical world where animals have been given human form and chaos can often be the nature of the day, some universal truths remain. Like the futility of war and the foolishness of leaders. And, of course, the lingering prejudice against the Newlies, the humanized animals. But Master Lizard Maker Finn has no quarrel with creatures of any sort. Just returned from a highly traumatic vacation, he wants nothing more than a period of prolonged peace with his fetching Newlie lover, Letitia, and his greatest creation, a sassy mechanical lizard named Julia Jessica Slagg.

But the Fates, in the form of the capricious Prince of Fyxedia, have other plans in store for Finn. Fyxedia's leader has commissioned Finn to build a fantastical lizard timepiece for his archrival, the mysterious King of Heldessia-an odd enough request since Fyxedia and Heldessia have been at war for 700 years. Worse, Finn has been ordered to deliver the clock himself: a mission that involves flying over the war zone in a rickety and badly patched balloon. Finn can hardly refuse the commission, but the journey is the least of his problems. For Heldessia is a land as odd as any he's encountered, and he can't help but wonder what foul plot these monarchs have in store for each other. How can one lone lizard maker, his lover, and his mechanical creation foil a plot they don't even understand--and still manage to come out of it alive?