 On the island of Loom, the home of the secretive Guild of Weavers, Bobbin Threadbare is summoned to appear before the Elders of the Guild. He arrives just in time to see the Elders turn into swans and flee the island, with Elder Atropos cursing Bobbin s name. Bobbin learns from Dame Hetchel, the woman who raised him from childhood, that the Pattern is failing, and the Weavers  only hope is to escape before the Third Shadow descends across the land. Bobbin departs Loom to follow the flock of swans, and embarks on an adventure that takes him through the lands of the Glassmakers, Shepherds, and Blacksmiths, and ultimately delivers him into the clutches of the evil Bishop Mandible, as the Third Shadow draws near...