Aru Shah tends to exaggerate somewhat in order to "be herself" at a prestigious school. Her classmates fly to distant countries on vacation, and she spends all vacations at the Museum of Culture and Art of Ancient India, where her mother works. So it is not surprising that Aru makes up all kinds of lies about himself. Once she said that the ancient lamp in the museum was cursed. And now classmates demand to prove it. But the consequences of her act turn out to be more than serious - now she must go to the Realm of Death and meet supernatural beings...