Sarah Gibbson is a fool and she knows it. It has been four long years since her high-school boyfriend, Andrew Foresman, moved away and disappeared from her life. Trying to prepare herself for college and put her past behind her, she sees an opportunity to win a lot of money by becoming a game show contestant on The Castle of Challenges.
The odds are against her, and she doesn't expect to win. There are nineteen other contestants there. What she never expected was that Andrew would be one of them. But just when it seems fate is finally granting her wishes, the two of them learn that romance is completely forbidden in the castle. And keeping a relationship secret isn't her only problem...
As contestants are eliminated from the competition, Sarah is plagued with strange nightmares of them suffering. Constantly on edge with enemies abound, she hears rumors of darkness lurking in the halls. Sarah believes that darkness lurks within Akkio, her worst rival. But Akkio isn't the only one with secrets, and she's not the only problem Sarah faces. Can Sarah banish the darkness and make it to the finale with her beloved Andrew, or will her nightmares become reality?