Deep inside a secluded cave at the Griffith Observatory in
Los Angeles, sixteen-year-old Molly Bennett discovers a secret light passage to
an Earthlike planet: Arkana. With her dog Pandora, she ventures into the woods
where she meets a group of teenagers. She spends her day with them, having fun
at a waterfall. One of the guys, the mysterious and sullen Victor Sorren,
intrigues her. If only the boy would show some interest in her…
The next day back on Earth, Molly finds it impossible to
think of anything but what she had seen on Arkana and to continue with her
normal life at Beverly Hills High. She sneaks back to Arkana to meet her new
friends again and to see more of that strange yet wonderful world. But Weston,
Victor’s best friend, finds out that Molly is from Earth. Driven by a deep-rooted
hatred, Victor corners Molly, willing to kill her. If not for the artistic and
lovable Annabella’s intervention, life might have ended for Molly right there
on an alien planet.
Victor escorts her back to Earth with a warning: NEVER COME
BACK.
Completely devastated Molly is back at school the next day
where her social studies teacher teams her up with three of her classmates for
a project. Camilla Baker is a popular girl at school, well aware of her beauty
and social position. Alexa Miller is the ignored child of a wealthy Beverly
Hills couple. And Chris Duncan is the school’s designated heartbreaker, an
arrogant boy with too much of Daddy’s money.
For an entire week Molly battles her overprotective father,
manages to pull off the project with the three oddest people at school, and
tries to forget Victor and the Arkanians. By the end of the week, she is so far
behind in her schoolwork that – despite Victor’s warning – she decides to cross
over to Arkana and snuggle down by the passage, taking advantage of the time
difference between Earth and Arkana to catch up on homework.
Things seem to return to normal, but after a silly accident
Molly finds herself in the hospital with a head injury. Victor pays her a visit
and brings her a miracle remedy. The flame restarts in Molly’s heart. Victor
also bears good news. He followed her over the past week and found her
trustworthy. With her silence, Molly has earned her right to return to Arkana.
But the Elders must not know about her.
Once recovered, Molly decides to spend two days on Arkana.
Her cover: a sleepover at Alexa’s. When Molly passes through the wormhole, she
calls for Weston, using the AB - an advanced digital watch Victor gave her. The
boys invite Molly to go on a hunt. Victor warns them of the danger Molly puts
herself into in the jungle where she isn’t familiar with predatory animals and
plants, but nobody listens to him. Not even Molly. She’s waited for this day
too long to turn back now.
In the jungle a Konderra snatches Molly. Suddenly Victor
appears at the herd’s den and shoots an arrow into the vicious, saber-toothed creature’s
paw. Molly makes a run for her life. As Victor and Molly attempt to escape on
his flying motorcycle, Molly falls into a field of poisonous mushrooms.
When she awakens, Molly finds herself in a wooden hut with
Victor and Ulka de Tino, a peculiar, elderly lady. Once she’s nursed back to
health, she sets out on a walk around Sesmar, marveling at the wonders of the
village built high atop the crowns of tall trees. She meets Tulliat, a young
Arkanian, who shares secrets about Victor’s past with her: Victor is an orphan. Invaders from Earth killed his mother
and father when he was born. The sulky young boy has dedicated his life to
becoming a Sentinel, a fighter against Terrakas (people from Earth), and
avenging his parents’ death. Victor’s hostile behavior toward Molly now makes
sense to her.
Molly also happens to cross paths with Kamm, a Sentinel
Master. Victor’s reaction tells Molly that this meeting means trouble.
After Victor flies Molly back to Earth she shows up at
Alexa’s house late for the sleepover, only to find out that Alexa has called
her house and talked to her father. Tangled in more lies than ever in her life,
Molly almost blows her cover at home.
At school Camilla gets Molly in trouble and they both have
to spend time in detention where the girls share secrets: Camilla and Chris
hooked up a few months ago. Molly admits to Camilla that she writes songs and
plays the guitar. Seems like an innocent enough confession.The next day her English teacher confronts Molly again and
accuses her of not trying to express herself. Camilla suggests Molly sing a
song for the entire class. With trembling knees Molly drags herself to the
front of the class and sings Chris Isaak’s Wicked
Game. But her classmates aren’t the only ones who get to hear her sing.
Victor is at the window, hovering on his motorcycle wrapped in an invisibility
field.
That night Victor shows up at Molly’s balcony, inviting her
to the Ecmentur Games on Weston’s orders. At the meadow on Arkana, Victor hands
Molly over to Weston with a heavy heart. He’s having feelings for her but he’s
too scared to admit it to himself.
The magnificent games take place in an oval arena on a
tropical island. People from all over Arkana bustle around, landing their
ellipsoid aircraft called Araneavi in a beehive-like parking tower, beaching
their boats on sandy shores. It’s so much to see yet Molly has eyes only for
Victor. In his leather armor and helmet, he’s breathtaking. There is no doubt;
Molly is in love with him.
The last game of the day starts when Victor and Weston
compete against each other, riding on the back of flying horses called
Dyporaxes and shooting at targets with their bows. Weston has always been the
winner. His wealthy inventor father demands it. But this time Victor takes the
trophy for Molly.
Weston gets into a fight with Victor over his triumph and
over Molly.
Back at the Sesmar village the confused girl seeks out Ulka
de Tino for advice. She is baffled by Victor’s mood swings and would do
anything for an answer. But it is not Ulka who answers her questions. Victor
takes Molly to his secret lair where they spend a romantic evening, gazing at
the glowing Vandesils, flying through red petals in the gorge, and sharing a
romantic dinner by a fire. Victor finally admits how he feels about her. But
there is no happy ending to their story. Victor is a Sentinel, and as such, is
required to lead a celibate life. They spend the night in the hut, like friends destined never
to be together.
In the morning Molly gets to fly on Neep, Victor’s four-eyed,
winged horse. All these exhilarating experiences don’t help to lessen Molly’s
love for Victor.
Everything seems to be perfect on Arkana, even Victor’s
English. Then, at a most awkward moment, Victor starts to speak gibberish, a
combination of many languages. The translator chip buried deep in his brain has
become faulty. Victor needs to go to the Valley of Lost Souls to get a new one.
It’s a dangerous place to be but Molly gives Victor no option but to bring her
along.
The Valley of Lost Souls is a deep, cavernous pit, dug by
Arkanians around a gigantic crystal formation that provides free, clean energy.
Some people who lost their will to live end up in this cave where they live off
the power of the crystals. Their body turns golden and hairless while bronze
flames flicker in their eyes. The locals call them Lighteaters. Nobody comes
here unless it is absolutely unavoidable.
Molly’s curiosity endangers them both and the light of the
crystal almost strikes her. Victor realizes that Molly’s life would be much
safer if she stayed on Earth and never came back. When against her will he
flies Molly back to the wormhole, his Ducati collides with an invisibility
field and they crash onto the Prophet’s estate.
While Kevin, the Prophet’s butler, repairs Victor’s
aircraft, Victor and Molly become stranded in the eerie castle. The Prophet, a
man from Earth, the leader of the Arkanians and the Sentinels, recognizes
Molly’s accent. He orders her to return to her home planet. She stands her
ground, confessing her feelings for Victor to the Prophet. But the Prophet also
has secrets. He is the grandfather of Victor. His son Abraham is not dead. He’s
the Lighteater who helped out Victor in the valley. Victor’s world collapses when he accidentally finds out the
truth. All he believed in his entire life was based on a lie. He isn’t even
pureblooded Arkanian. He is a Motley, a Terraka and Arkanian mix.
Victor needs time to think. Molly fears she will never see
him again.
Christmas is around the corner but Molly is sadder than
ever. Her former boyfriend, the troubled Adam Gates, keeps calling, begging for
her forgiveness. Alexa is having a huge Christmas party where everybody has to
dress up like a princess. The last thing Molly is in the mood for. There is
also a confrontation between Camilla and Molly. After school Molly gets
Camilla’s address from the office and takes the blouse she left at school to
her. Camilla’s life is a fake. She lives in a small house with the school’s
janitor as her stepfather and they are definitely not rich. To say that Camilla
doesn’t appreciate Molly’s dropping by is an understatement. As for Molly, this
is just another secret to keep.
On the day of the party, Adam Gates shows up at school, blowing
the minds of Molly’s friends with his handsome face and charm, but irritating
the life out of Molly. He’s moved in with his uncle and will be attending
Beverly Hills High from now on. When Molly doesn’t rave about this new
development, Adam becomes aggressive, as he was back in Hopewell, NJ. He tosses
Molly around until Victor shows up in his jaw-dropping Bugatti Veyron and
knocks Adam out. The couple drives off together, leaving the students in awe.
Back in Sesmar village Kamm’s Motley sisters Leena and Tessa help Molly get
ready for Alexa’s party. Victor insists that Molly not miss anything from her
life just because she has an alien for a boyfriend. When Molly steps out from
the tree elevator in her deep purple dress, Victor’s heart almost stops beating.
She is the most beautiful thing he has ever seen.
Weston catches up with the lovebirds at the entrance of the
cave by the waterfall and apologizes for his behavior. Annabella is there, too.
The friends make peace. The night couldn’t be any better.
But there is no good without bad, happiness without sadness.
As soon as Molly and Victor exit the wormhole, Adam Gates greets them inside
the cave, holding Molly’s diary. He knows everything and isn’t willing to keep
it to himself. He wants gold and diamonds. He wants to cross over to this rich
alien planet, too. After a short but bloody fight Victor takes him down. In
order to keep Arkana safe Adam needs to be eliminated.
Victor has always possessed supernatural powers, the ability
to move objects with his mind, or rummage through someone’s head. He didn’t
understand his unusual abilities until he learned about his mixed blood. With
his special power, Victor chooses to erase Adam’s memory instead of killing
him. Then he returns his limp body to the city where he would wake with a
headache and no memory of the light passage or Molly’s diary at all.
Molly, still upset and disturbed, makes it to the party. The
weight of her crazy life begins to overwhelm her, yet it seems she has matured
enough to handle the stress.
At Alexa’s, Molly finds Camilla, lying in a pool of blood on
the bathroom floor. She’d gotten into a fight with Chris, and he pushed her
against the bathroom sink. Camilla has lost her baby. Molly tries to call for
help but Camilla makes her swear she won’t tell anybody. Molly asks Victor to
bring over his father, the Lighteater, who possesses healing powers bestowed
upon him by the crystal’s energy.
Camilla is saved and Victor is about to erase her memories
when Molly’s father drops in on them. Mr. Sorren seizes him with a light bolt,
and Victor knocks him out, then erases his memory as well. The threads that
Molly held together for so long seem to be slipping through her fingers.
Physically drained, Victor returns to Arkana with his
father, while Molly spends the night next to her father, waiting for him to
awaken. She tells him how much she loves him, how she will try to be a better
daughter and better student. After all that happened that night, her secret is
still safe.
On the last night of the year, Victor holds Molly in his
arms on her balcony, where they’re watching fireworks together. Against all the
odds there may be a chance for their love. But whatever the future might bring,
at least now they are together and deeply in love. Everything is all right.
