Feeling indebted to a higher power for his father's recovery, Charlie agrees to care for Mr. Bowditch's German Shepherd, Radar, while he stays in the hospital.

He meets a shoemaker named Dora and exiled members of the Gallien royal family: they are Leah, Stephen "Woody" Woodleigh, and Claudia, who provide Charlie with guidance and food.

At some point, he discovered the Deep Well, which can only be opened when the two moons of Empis touch in the sky, and is the dwelling place of an evil creature called Gogmagog.

Elden opened the Deep Well, which led to him becoming Flight Killer, attaining power as Gogmagog's puppet and cursing Empis out of revenge for his mistreatment.

Charlie, Leah, and Radar lead a small group to infiltrate the city and eventually find the Deep Well, with Flight Killer waiting at its entrance just as the two moons collide and the well opens.

Charlie recovers from his injuries sustained from the encounter, and his hair and eyes revert to their original color; meanwhile, the citizens begin to rebuild the city.

[4] On August 11, 2022, Simon & Schuster also featured King on their YouTube page, where he narrated a chapter from Fairy Tale as a part of its promotion.

[5] In a review, Matt Bell of The New York Times described Fairy Tale as "a solid episodic adventure, a page-turner driven by memorably strange encounters and well-rendered, often thrilling action".

[6] The novel topped USA Today's Best-Selling Books list starting the week of September 15, 2022, beating out Colleen Hoover's It Ends with Us and Verity, and Delia Owens' Where the Crawdads Sing.

[9] Similarly, Alison Flood from The Guardian described the novel as "vintage, timeless King, a transporting, terrifying treat born from multiple lockdowns".