The night was thick and emerald with neon lights when the Black Circus crashed beneath the old steelworks. No one in town knew where it had come from. The dragging sound of a trumpet, the clatter of circus horses' hooves and the aroma of popcorn spread through the area. Adam and Lena, siblings who had long dreamed of a great adventure, slipped stealthily under the colourful tent, clutching tickets in their hands - mysterious invitations they had found under the doormat. Inside the tent, the world looked completely different from outside. Here, the audience's laughter produced echoes so thick you could almost cut them with a knife. The show began abruptly - the lights went out and a clown ran into the arena so silent that the audience held its breath. He was followed by acrobats in masks that glittered with gold and silver, but their faces were hidden. Adam noticed that there was no one to be recognised among the performers - no posters, no names. Lena spotted the silhouette of the circus director in the shadows, who kept his eyes on them throughout the performance. Everything seemed strangely overwhelming and... mesmerising. Suddenly, with the start of the main show, the lights went out completely and a shiver of unease ran through the tent. In this absolute darkness, a whisper reached Adam and Lena's ears: "If you want to know the truth about the Black Circus, you must come backstage before midnight." Moments later, the lights flared and a padlocked cage appeared in the middle of the arena.... The siblings looked after each other with beating hearts, contemplating whether to dare to look backstage or whether it would be better to escape before it was too late....