The Great Famine, by 1849, has devastated Ireland and its hunger-stricken people. Their plight is made worse by the evictions imposed by the landlords, who send tenants to the workhouses and the roadside ditches, where many die from starvation and disease. Archie and Kristin travel through time and space to return Finbar the Guide to Donegal. They encounter Lord Castleforde, a landlord cursed as a Varakite, a creature that seeks humans to satisfy a hunger for energy. Kristin is abducted by Castleforde, who believes her to be the incarnation of his dead wife. Archie and his team join forces with the rebel Ribbonmen, in a desperate attempt to find her before she disappears with the Varakite.