Angelina Marsh can find nothing in Watford to inspire her. She cares little for her school work, and does not take any interest in the things most that girls her age do. Then she meets a strange-looking man in the town centre selling magazines to passers-by, and her world is turned upside down.Angelina Marsh can find nothing in her life to inspire her. She cares little for her school work, and does not take any interest in the things most that girls her age do. Then she meets a strange-looking man in the town centre selling magazines to passers-by, and her perspective on life takes an unexpected turn. But can this man really be who he says he is, and if so, what does this mean for Angelina and the world she takes such a bleak view of? Only an open mind will allow her to find the answer.

Ryan Butler has a gift. When he shuts his eyes at night his mind is connected to every sleeping person on the planet. But he is not the only one, and there are those who would use this gift for all manner of unsavoury deeds. Can Ryan stop them? And can he keep his gift a secret while retaining his sanity?Ryan Butler is a lazy, selfish individual. At 14 years old he would rather sit in his room playing computer games than put any effort into achieving the grades he is capable of at school. Deep down he is actually quite sensitive, but he puts on a brash façade to ensure he maintains his popularity. He has known his neighbour, Daisy, all his life, but since starting secondary school he has avoided her as all the other kids think she's a bit strange.Through a series of dreams, during which the same man keeps cropping up, Ryan discovers that he has the staggering ability to contact other people in the waking world and influence their thoughts. He soon finds out that Daisy also shares this gift, along with two other kids from his school. Sophie is the object of Ryan's affection, a constant overachiever who accepts his friendship because her numerous gifts are met with resentment among her other classmates. Billy is her twin brother, whose arrogance leads him to constant conflict with Ryan, and whom Sophie can't stand the sight of. Together they enrol at the Academy – a facility established to maintain order within the sleeping world, and inhabited by a bizarre group of dreamers. The man Ryan kept seeing, Tristram, is a senior Dreamweaver and is charged with helping them to develop their skills. They soon discover that the Academy is engaged in a bitter struggle with a mercenary group, led by the enigmatic Rasputin, who use their skills to manipulate the minds of powerful businessmen and world leaders to fulfil the designs of the highest bidder. Their Dreamweaving lessons provide an enjoyable diversion from school life, which is often fickle and cruel, but then Sophie goes missing in a dream and Tristram heads off to find her. The others recklessly choose to follow, and events take a gruesome twist when they finally locate Sophie and discover that the world around them is a terrifying distortion of reality, and one that they cannot readily wake up from.