The following version of this novel was used in the creation of this study guide: Bardugo, Leigh. Crooked Kingdom. Henry Holt and Company. 2016. Hardcover. First Edition.

Part One: “Forsaken” opens with a former Grisha soldier, Retvenko, trying to pay off the last of his debt in Ketterdam. However, as he is preparing for a routine job, he is kidnapped by two mysterious Grisha.

Elsewhere in Ketterdam, Kaz Brekker and the Dregs- consisting of Wylan, Jesper, Nina, and Matthias- work together to break into the house of Smeet. Inside, they find information on Wylan’s father, Van Eck, and where he may be keeping another member of the crew, Inej. Narrowly escaping before Smeet returns, the group returns to a safe house in a graveyard known as The Black Veil. There, it is revealed that Van Eck wants to trade Inej for a boy named Kuwei whose father created the dangerous drug called jura parem. While Kaz could turn Kuwei over for money, he hopes to save Inej and ruin Van Eck’s life without giving him what he wants.

Meanwhile, Inej tries to figure out where Van Eck has taken her while worrying that Kaz may not come for her after all. One of Van Eck’s indentured servants, Bajan, tries to convince her to give Van Eck the location of Kaz’s safe house, though Inej claims she does not know. When she tries to escape, Van Eck catches her and threatens to break her legs for not telling him. However, he gives her one more day as both know Kaz will not trade for someone who is broken.

In Part Two: “A Killing Wind,” Jesper meets with his father, Colm, who is unwittingly used as bait to attack the Dregs. After Kaz asks for three days to make everything right, Colm leaves for a hotel that Kaz sets up for him and they start their plan to rescue Inej. However, while Van Eck assumes Kaz will come straight for Inej, Kaz outwits the merchant by kidnapping his pregnant wife instead. Van Eck reluctantly agrees to meet in the Barrel for a trade. However, the moment his wife is returned, Van Eck demands that Kaz return his son (Wylan) and calls in the city’s law enforcement. As Kaz and Inej escape alone, the others are chased by a Grisha kidnapper and only escape when Nina kills the attacker.

Part Three: “Brick by Brick,” continues as the group plans Van Eck’s downfall by framing him for market manipulation and destroying his sugar silos. However, Nina and Inej convince Kaz to create a plan to help the Grisha refugees escape back to Ravka on one of Van Eck’s ships. This means that Kaz and Wylan will break into Van Eck’s home to find his seal and write a letter of permission to the captain. Meanwhile, Inej will put a substance called weevil into the sugar, destroying the product itself. The rest will work to get Kuwei and the other refugees onto the ship safely. Wylan, after learning that his father falsely committed his mother to an asylum, embraces his role in Kaz’s plan to destroy Van Eck’s life.

In Part Four: “The Unexpected Visitor,” the group finishes their preparations and split up. However, things go bad very quickly when it is revealed that Pekka Rollins is working with Van Eck and predicted what Kaz would do. Everyone in the Dregs manages to escape the traps he set for them. However, with Rollins and Van Eck’s influence, everyone in the Barrel- including their own gang and the Stadwatch- are now trying to capture them. Kaz, however, has a new plan.

In Part Five: "Kings & Queens," the Dregs work together to set up an auction for Kuwei’s volunteer indenture, knowing that every nation will want him. However, they plan to rig it for Ravka so that they can get Kuwei to safety. At the same time, Kaz gets Colm to pretend to be a local jurda farmer named Johannus Rietveld to spread rumors about a secret buyer and get the merchants- including Van Eck- invested. The auction itself gets quickly out of hand with impossibly high bids until the Council of Tides steps in, calling it all a sham.

Part Six: "Action & Echo" opens with the Council of Tides announcing that money was funneled improperly to a bidder. Van Eck blames the Ravkans, but is surprised when the Council says the money actually went to the Shu in Van Eck and Rietveld’s names. All of Van Eck’s schemes come undone and he is arrested while Kaz ensures Rollins cannot come to Van Eck’s defense. Meanwhile, Nina plants a fake plague in all of Rollins’s businesses and the Menagerie and Inej ends up facing Dunyasha, leading to the assassin's death. While things go mostly according to plan, the group is saddened to learn that Matthias was killed by a Fjerdan and was the only casualty of their plan. Nevertheless, as the Grisha refugees escape and Wylan takes over Van Eck’s business with Jesper’s help, Kaz reunites Inej with her parents and the two face a happier future.