[1] The Sword Thief follows the first two books in the series, The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan and One False Note by Gordon Korman.

They discover a collection of strange symbols, but are taken captive by the Holts who steal their lead.

Amy, Dan, and Alistair barely escape the train, and find themselves in an unused storage room.

Alistair notes how much Ian and Natalie seem to already know, and how they're playing dumb to appeal to Amy and Dan.

They then discover to head to Bukhansan, where Ian and Amy's flirting leads them to a secret entrance.

Angry, Dan reveals that he lied, and that Al Sakhet and Alkahest are the words.