Crimson, the bloodthirsty, sadistic King of Hearts, is a villain. Or at least he’s supposed to be. That’s just how things work in Wonderland, a strange, fanciful place filled with heroes and villains who always seem to be at odds.

Crim is in a very dark place after the hero Alister Kingsley wins the Wonderland joust and marries Madeline Hatter. He should have known better than to hope for true love since villains don’t get "happy endings".

But there’s something fishy afoot. Even though Crim loves Madeline, he can’t stop thinking about his Cheshire Cat slave, Katrina, who remains trapped in an enchanted sleep. Only true love’s kiss can break a sleeping curse, and Crim has tried that already. Don’t get him wrong. He doesn’t love Katrina. He just misses her delicious raspberry tarts terribly and will stop at nothing until she can bake them for him again.

Like sharks smelling blood in the water, Crim’s enemies make their move when the King of Hearts shows a moment of weakness caused by his recent defeat at Alister’s hands and his inability to break Katrina’s curse. The Queen of Hearts and Crim’s birthmother, Cordelia, has two powerful allies in her arsenal: the Other Artist, Alice, and the Sorcerer Maleficent.

Crim later discovers that the saying "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" is true when the Cheshire Cat People decide to join Crim in retaking the Red Kingdom from the clutches of Alice’s army, which is made up of vicious Dark Fairies and human-sized insects.

Can a villain become the hero Wonderland needs before it’s too late, or will Wonderland be plunged into an eternal darkness forever?