In this biographical series that begins in 1784, twenty-one-year-old George, Prince of Wales-- the eldest son of King George III and heir to the British throne-- spends his youth idly by keeping countless mistresses, drinking profusely, and making friends with the radical Whig Opposition, much to the dismay of his father and the conservative Tories. While the Prince of Wales is handsome, witty, and intelligent, he is also vain, haughty, and melodramatic. However, his Whig friends overlook his vices in the hopes that their political alliance with him will one day be in their favor, as they hope to one day retake the government from the Tories. The Prince of Wales gets himself into even more difficulties with an illegal marriage, accumulating debts, and an evermore distant relationship with his parents. This finally culminates in the Regency Crisis of 1788: when King George III suffers through a serious mental illness, the Prince of Wales' true disposition is finally revealed before the public eye.

Set in the wealthy, small area of Uptown Hornfield, a middle school election is taken to another level when its five candidates fight for the title of "President of Uptown Middle School." Split into two different houses, the school must decide who will be its next leader. Will they vote for the student who's obviously the best-suited for the position, or will they be fooled by another seemingly-perfect candidate who has unprecedented plans for the school?

In 1825, ten-year-old Daniel Cholmondeley is suddenly orphaned and sent from a life of poverty and hunger in Paris to a life of solitude and order at Blisterford Abbey, where he is temporarily cared for by its nuns. Yet, just when he begins to settle in, Daniel is soon sent away again, this time to live with his mother's estranged relatives, the Praxleys, in the remote Ashburton Manor, an enormous Gothic castle perched on the edge of the North Yorkshire cliffs. As soon as Daniel arrives, he is scorned and donned "The Peasant" by his disdainful family and falls under the leadership of Lord Praxley. However, Ashburton's owner turns out to be Daniel's twelve-year-old cousin, Peter Praxley, who inherited the estate and fortune from his father when he was ten. Soon after he moves in, Daniel finds that he has an ally- an anonymous benefactor who is one of Daniel's relatives and refers to themselves as "X." Every night, X sends messages to him and informs him of years-old secrets and scandals that still lurk behind Ashburton's walls, waiting to be discovered. They also inform Daniel of a malefactor- another relative of theirs- referred to as "Y," who took an "item of extreme value" from him not too long before he arrived by using illegal means, and by disposing of two Praxleys that stood in the way of Y's selfish plan. Now, Daniel must solve the mystery of his family's haunting backstory, discover and return the item of extreme value to himself, bring the truth to light by exposing Y for their wrongdoings against him and his two relations that had stood up for him, and find out once and for all who is whom. Daniel has been waiting his whole life for purpose and excitement, and is therefore eager to assist X in solving the mystery of Ashburton Manor; however, the secrets Daniel will discover will thrust his life into a world of danger, and, as curiosity killed the cat, so might he meet his end if he is not careful of whom he holds in confidence.

In an 1839 poverty-stricken, industrialized neighborhood of New York City, nine-year-old Sammy Jane Sumper has lived in poverty and shame, due to her selfish and abusive mother, Alice, whose scandalous life has ostracized herself from society. Alice's blasphemous life is composed of her unfavorable occupation and illegitimate daughter, who has never met her own father. When Sammy is sent to work for the cruel and powerful factory owner, Mr. Woolventomb, she at first contradicts his harsh methods of "encouraging" the workers, but then slowly succumbs to his unfair demands. She does this out of fear that she could be fired, and also by the fact that her mother would gladly throw her out of their two-room tenement and into the streets, were Sammy not bringing home the weekly pay. Then, a life-changing, yet risky, opportunity is presented to her. If she takes it, she will be able to leave her past behind, as well as create a positive future for herself and many others. If she plays her cards right, she will get what she has always desired, along with many other additional benefits to accompany it. She will finally 'make something of herself,' and prove to everyone that she is not going to end up just like her mother: poor, and alone. It sounds like the perfect, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to her, but Sammy does not realize that with every benefit comes a burden. She is walking on thin ice, and one false step could send her and those she cares about spiraling down into a worse situation in life than she had lived in before.