The Maze of Bones

Eleven-year-old Dan and his 14-year-old sister Amy attend Grace’s funeral. Dan finds Amy annoying, especially when she doesn’t speak up for them. Dan is secretly excited to add a new tombstone rubbing to his collection. Dan collects many things, like baseball cards, autographs, Civil War weapons, rare coins, and his own casts. Aunt Beatrice, their guardian, berates Amy for reading in the car. Dan resents that Aunt Beatrice would not let him wear his ninja clothes to the funeral; he knows Grace would not have minded. Dan loved Grace, who was a “cool grandmother,” but dreads seeing relatives who have never been nice to him or Amy. His fears come to fruition when the athletic Holt twins meanly hold him up by his ankles. Amy gets tongue-tied and fails to speak up for Dan. Dan demands they drop him, causing the Holts to drop Dan on his head and mock Amy for reading all the time. They are certain that they will inherit Grace’s fortune. Dan thinks that he and Amy will inherit the mansion since they were Grace’s favorites.

The funeral passes in a blur, though Dan recognizes other relatives: the glamorous and cruel Kabra siblings; Alistair Oh, a Korean Cahill with a diamond-tipped walking stick; Irina Spasky, whose eye twitches; the preppy, elitist Starling triplets; and the popular TV star, Jonah Wizard. Dan, Amy, and a select few funeral attendees discover golden invites in their funeral programs. McIntyre informs them of Grace’s alternate will, explaining that Grace considered these family members the most likely to succeed in a perilous quest of great importance to the family and the world. McIntyre plays a video in which Grace reveals that the Cahill family is the most powerful and influential in history and announces the challenge. All who received the golden invite are given a choice: Receive a $1 million inheritance or receive the first of 39 clues. These clues lead to a treasure that could make a person powerful beyond belief and allow them to realize the destiny of the Cahill families. The recipients of the invites are given five minutes to decide.

Amy can’t believe Grace arranged something like this without telling her. All she wanted was to inherit some small keepsake to remember her grandmother. Amy thinks ruefully about her hatred of crowds and the way her voice doesn’t work when she needs it. She sometimes has nightmares about falling into a black pit and seeing faces staring in, laughing at her. She wants to run up to the library and curl up with a book and Grace’s Egyptian Mau, Saladin. Amy reminisces about spending time with Grace and Grace’s unwavering belief that one day Amy would go on great adventures. Dan wants to take the money and buy collectable baseball cards with it. Amy insists that if they keep it, they’ll need to save it for college since they know Aunt Beatrice will continue to be stingy. Aunt Beatrice, though wealthy, only pays for a sparse and loveless life for the siblings; they live in a tiny apartment supervised by a revolving door of au pairs. Amy isn’t sure why Grace insisted Aunt Beatrice take the siblings rather than caring for them herself. Amy resents Grace when she is in the apartment, but whenever she visited Grace, she felt loved. Now that Grace is gone, Amy finds the idea of money and independence attractive.

Everyone in the room bickers about what to do. The Kabras goad Dan and Amy about their poverty, and Amy finds herself unable to respond, feeling embarrassed and inadequate next to the glamorous Kabras. The Kabras laugh at the siblings for thinking they were Grace’s favorites and leave to travel on their parents’ private jet. More and more guests take the inheritance and give up on the clues. Aunt Beatrice commands the siblings to take the money, promising to put it in a trust for them, though she insinuates that she will pocket the interest. Amy manages to speak up, reprimanding Aunt Beatrice for trying to steal their $2 million. Aunt Beatrice retorts that if they do not hand over the money, she will disown them and send them to Social Services. Aunt Beatrice almost reveals the end goal of the quest but stops herself. Amy realizes that the thought of the clue quest terrifies Aunt Beatrice.

McIntyre rings a bell, signifying the end of the five minutes. Alistair asks for more information, and McIntyre reveals that the Cahills have been instrumental in shaping civilization. He lists notable Cahills, including Abraham Lincoln and Eleanor Roosevelt. McIntyre insists that only one individual or team will succeed in the quest and outdo the accomplishments of the greatest Cahills. Amy feels unsure about what to do. Taking the money and losing it all to Aunt Beatrice would only make her feel more alone, and nothing would change.

Ian and Natalie are the first to take the challenge. McIntyre burns their bank note, destroying $2 million in a matter of seconds. The Holts, Alistair Oh, the Starlings, Irina, and Jonah Wizard also accept the challenge. Soon Amy and Dan are the only ones left. Amy wonders whether she and Dan, though under-resourced, stand a chance. Deep down, she wants to take the challenge, stand up to her condescending relatives, and make Grace and their parents proud. She and Dan discuss it wordlessly and decide to take the challenge. Aunt Beatrice swears to disown them and place them in foster care, probably separately.

Dan thinks about how he always wanted to go on an adventure that would make his parents proud. The teams open the first clue, which instructs them to look for someone named “Richard S—.” Amy and Dan do not understand what the clue means. McIntyre claims that there are many paths to each clue and many hidden hints and secrets. Irina is the first to leave, seemingly with an idea of what the clue means. One by one, the teams figure out a lead and leave. Dan tries to trip Ian Kabra on the way out, but he evades Dan’s foot.

Amy and Dan do not know what to do and worry that they have made a mistake. Amy remembers that sometimes in the 1700s, authors would disguise a name by writing an initial followed by a dash. McIntyre notices them struggling and informs them that Grace would have been happy they took the challenge. He also reveals that there are four branches of the family: Ekaterina, Janus, Tomas, and Lucian. Amy and Dan ask which branch they belong to, but McIntyre does not know. He alludes to other mysterious, interested parties and warns them to beware the Madrigals. Despite their questions, he reveals no more. He warns them to trust no one. He encourages them to do what they normally do when they need information. Amy excitedly leads them to the library.

Dan feels strange being in the light, airy library without Grace. He remembers a time Grace found him playing with a dagger he had pilfered from the cabinet. Rather than yell at him, she explained its origins and encouraged his curiosity. Dan doesn’t know how to help Amy’s research, but he notices a map on the wall signed by Grace. Amy notes that Grace was a cartographer. Alistair Oh corners them and reveals that Grace explored almost every major city in the world. Alistair proposes an alliance with the siblings. He can fund and chaperone them while they use their intelligence and fresh perspective to interpret the clues. The siblings aren’t sure. Amy begins to wonder why there are so few books in this library. Dan notices that the family crest above the bookshelf references the four branches of the family. After more scrutiny, he realizes that all of the four letters are smudged. He climbs up and presses them, revealing a hidden passage.

Amy leads the way down into a library full of old manuscripts, maps, and folios. Dan isn’t impressed, but Amy is amazed by opulent chandeliers, leather seats, and priceless books. She searches the “S” section but finds nothing. At the end of one aisle, Amy finds Saladin, who feels like their last true connection to Grace. Amy also finds Grace’s jewelry box, which contains her beloved jade necklace. Dan finds a map covered in five categories of colored pushpins and wonders if they represent Cahills. The way the pushpins seem to cover Europe and colonize North America jogs Amy’s memory.

Amy realizes that “Richard S” must refer to Poor Richard’s Almanac, a publication written by Benjamin Franklin in the 1700s under the pseudonym “Richard Saunders.” Amy finds the almanac and discovers annotations in the margins, including notes written by their late mother in her signature purple pen. The note cryptically tells them to “follow Franklin” and alludes to a “maze of bones” (53). Suddenly smoke fills the library; the house is on fire. Amy realizes the dragons on the ceiling match those on Grace’s jade necklace. They all seem to be flying in the same direction. With both Saladin and the jewelry box in tow, the siblings follow the dragons and discover an air grate. They narrowly escape through a shaft that leads to the graveyard.

Dan tries to catch his breath, but his asthma is acting up. The siblings realize that the whole family mansion is on fire. Amy comforts Dan as the house collapses. Amy notices McIntyre collapsed in the front driveway. Amy tries to go help him, but Dan tackles her, realizing a mysterious man in a dark suit is watching them. Alistair emerges from the shaft and jumps into his car. Amy tries to revive McIntyre and calls 911. As Alistair’s taillights disappear, the siblings realize he stole their clue.