Moe shows Nick a technique for getting into the picture but he warns him, "You get into that picture and you'll wish you were out of it." Nick, however, can't resist the challenge of exploring the old bridge and the little wood on the track that leads to Trokeville.

Suffering the pangs of first love for the beautiful Cynthia Jeffreys and full of confusion about everything, Nick is trying hard to stop losing and start winning. In the weirdness of the puzzle world he encounters Harry Buncher and Cynthia, gets entangled in Moe Nagic's past, and struggles desperately to find his way back to everyday life.