After losing his parents, young Lewis Barnavelt moves to New Zebedee, Michigan, to live with his mysterious Uncle Jonathan. He discovers his uncle is a good-hearted but eccentric warlock living in a creaky old house filled with magic and a mysterious ticking sound hidden in the walls. As Lewis tries to learn magic and fit in at school, he accidentally awakens a powerful evil from the past, putting his uncle and their entire town in grave danger. Together, they must solve the mystery of the clock before it completes its deadly countdown.