Klaus and Violet look for clues in a suspicious note that passes custody to Captain Sham, a seafaring scam artist with clear ties to Count Olaf.

The orphans arrive at the aptly named Lake Lachrymose to meet their widowed Aunt Josephine, a strict grammarian who’s haunted by the past.

Klaus and Violet suspect Count Olaf and his evil cohorts when a lifeless body turns up in the reptile room. Sunny sees the inside of a suitcase.

After the Baudelaires move in with Dr. Montgomery, a renowned expert in reptile behavior, their new guardian hires a frighteningly familiar assistant.

While Mr. Poe’s secretary works overtime, Count Olaf casts Violet and Klaus in “The Marvelous Marriage,” a work of theater with alarming implications.

The dreadful history of the Baudelaire children begins with a deadpan narrator, a terrible fire and the ominous arrival of a distant relative.