On the run as suspected murderers, the unlucky Baudelaire orphans find themselves trapped in the Caligari Carnival, where they must masquerade as freaks in order to hide from the evil Count Olaf.

The woeful saga of the Baudelaire orphans continues as evil Count Olaf discovers their whereabouts at Esmé Squalor's seventy-one bedroom penthouse and concocts a new plan for stealing their family fortune.

After the sudden death of their parents, the three Baudelaire children must depend on each other and their wits when it turns out that the distant relative who is appointed their guardian is determined to use any means necessary to get their fortune. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are intelligent children. They are charming, and resourceful, and have pleasant facial features. Unfortunately, they are exceptionally unlucky. Imagine tales so terrible...

Under a new government program based on the saying "It takes a village to raise a child, " the Baudelaire orphans are adopted by an entire town, with disastrous results.

In the perilous Mortmain Mountains, Klaus and Violet Baudelaire meet another well-read person, who helps them try to rescue Sunny from the villainous Count Olaf and his henchmen as they all near "the last safe place."