Eight-year-old Horty Bluett is mocked by his classmates and abused by his adoptive parents until the day his father severs three of his fingers. He runs away, taking only a gem-eyed jack-in-the-box named Junky, and is adopted by Monetre's traveling carnival and the beautiful midget Zena, who is to be the great love of his life. Together they will explore the mysteries of Horty's nature and origins.