In the Bad Beginning, the three Baudelaire orphans are on the beach, their parents sent them their as sort of a vacation but they had to be home by dinner. They saw Mr Poe, a very close friend to the Baudelaire family and the executor of their parents' will. Mr Poe tells them about the enormous fire that killed their parents. They are to live with Mr Poe for the time being until they move in with a relative. Mr Poe's wife buys the children horrible itchy clothing and they have to live in their house with the weird smelling odor.

They Baudelaires move in with Count Olaf, a horribley greedy, dirty man. He orders them every morning to do meaningless chores, and when his theatre troupe comes over for dinner he orders them to make dinner. When they make a puttanesca sauce Olaf yells and says he...