Kino and Hermes make their way to the Land of Books, a country whose library gathers together all the books in the world, but locks away those considered ‘harmful', leaving only the most wholesome and inoffensive out on display. Almost by chance, however, Kino finds themselves thrust into the underground of this world, where a secret resistance publishes its own, darker material. But as the plot thickens, the lines between reality and fantasy begin to blur, until it becomes almost impossible to distinguish what is really happening, and what only exists on the pages of a book, or in the depths of an author's mind...

As Kino takes a boat downriver and enjoys a lazy fishing trip, they finds themselves recalling the people they have met on their travels — people who were undertaking journeys of their own, from a woman seeking revenge for her husband's death to another hoping to spread the word of peace. But as Kino recalls their past — and how they chose not to intervene — they cannot help remembering an encounter with a dying wise man that ultimately proved that even observers can have an effect.