Violet must find the trigger word to free Klaus from Orwell's hypnotic spell before it's too late for Charles.

The children make their way to the Lukcy Smells Lumbermills, and discover that their parents are believed to have burned down the nearby town. The Baudelaires are put to work, and Klaus soon falls under the hypnotic spell of Dr. Orwell.

The Baudelaires soon realize that Josephine's suicide note contains a secret message. But to get away from Poe and a disguised Olaf, they must first take advantage of their allergy to peppermints.

The orphans move in with their newest guardian, Aunt Josephine. Josephine is paranoid after the death of her husband at the snouts of leeches, and a stickler for grammar. However, neither one protects her from Olaf, disguised as Captain Sham.

The Baudelaires find Uncle Monty dead, apparently killed by the Incredibly Deadly Viper. However, once Poe arrives, the children try to expose the real murdrerer.

Following the sham wedding ceremony, Olaf manages to escape while the Baudelaire siblings are sent to live with their herpetologist uncle Dr. Monty Montgomery, who has come across a reptile known as the "Incredibly Deadly Viper". While attempting to learn more about Monty, a skeptical Klaus discovers that the hedge maze is the same shape as the tattoo on Olaf's ankle. Meanwhile, Olaf poses as Monty's new assistant to get close to the Baudelaire.

Olaf schemes to marry Violet and obtain the Baudelaire fortune under the pretense of staging a play.

After they lose their parents and their homes in a fire, the Baudelaire children are placed with their nearest relative, Count Olaf. Unknown to anyone, Olaf plans to obtain the family fortune once Violet comes of age... by hook or by crook.