(Rushdie 4) One month afterward, Rashid enters a coma, attributed to a curse placed by antagonist 'Captain Aag'.

Thereafter, Luka travels through the 'World of Magic' imagined by his father, guided by a phantom-like creature nicknamed 'Nobodaddy', representing Rashid's imminent death.

Accompanied by her, Luka and his companions ride her flying carpet through the Mists of Time and the Great Stagnation.

Afterward, they are temporarily detained by the Great Rings of Fire, which Dog and Bear identify as the handiwork of Captain Aag.

They are then captured in the cloud fortress of Baddal-Garh, now under the control of the antagonist 'Aalim' and Nobodaddy, who has betrayed Luka to complete his task of killing Rashid.

Although intended for young adult readers, Rushdie's novel, according to the School Library Journal, "appeals to all ages".

[6] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette criticised the book, calling it "a hodgepodge of what Mr. Rushdie hopes are clever references to mythology, folklore and popular culture" and adding that it is an "assembly-line story welded together from parts of this and that".

Rushdie was part of a judging panel which invited ten students from the faculty of art, design and architecture to present ideas for the book".