Come one, come all to the creepiest circus the world has ever seen, a place where puzzling mysteries -- and a familiar face -- await.
In the past, there is a celebration of the V.F.D. headquarters that is attended by Montgomery Montgomery, Josephine and Ike Anwhistle, Gustav, Georgina Orwell, and Jacques Snicket. Lemony Snicket is too late to prevent the murder of his love Beatrice by Olaf. In the present, Olaf and his troupe arrive at the Caligari Carnival to speak to Madame Lulu about who survived the fire. Olivia had already beaten them there and is posing as Lulu and feigns a story that they will need to wait until the next day to learn the answer. The Baudelaires overhear this. Wanting to speak to Lulu as well, take the guise as circus freaks with Violet and Klaus as a two-headed person and Sunny as a wolf child. After making a call to the secret organization, Olivia is able to tell Olaf the next day that it was one of the Baudelaire parents that survived the fire in exchange for convincing him to use his acting skills to lead a show.When the children learn this, they know must talk to Lulu, but are forced to first participate in a circus with Olaf running it as ringmaster. They meet the fellow freaks Hugo the Hunchback, Colette the Contortionist, and Kevin the Ambidextrous Man. Olaf demands Lulu to provide more answers, but she cannot give those until the next day. He sets off to find a pack of lions to re-invigorate the circus. This gives an opportunity for the children to sneak into Lulu's tent and discovers films, books, and disguises belonging to the "Volunteer Fire Department", the secret organization their parents and their guardians belonged to. Olivia then appears and reveals her true identity to the children.
