According to prophecy, a trip through the magical portal near the Dover, England, orphanage where Ian and Theo live will bring them to the third Oracle, a child with extraordinary healing powers to help defeat a great evil, but it will also lead to Ian's death.
In 1938, three orphans--Theo, Carl, and Ian, ages ten to thirteen--lead three teachers through a portal that takes them from Dover, England, to Morocco in their quest to locate six silver boxes before the ancient prophecies therein are found by the evil Demogorgon's offspring.