Jena is the second oldest daughter of a family of five. When Jena is only five years old, she is playing near her home with her cousins, Cezar and Costi. An old crone, who is later revealed as a witch, encounters them and offers to grant their wishes if they give her something they treasure. Jena trades her crown to become the Queen of the Fairies. Cost trades his family ring to become the Lord of the Water. Cezar's wish is to become the King of the Land and it's not immediately clear what he trades, but it's later revealed that he had been willing to trade the life of his older brother, Costi, for that title. As they continue their game, Costi apparently drowns and Cezar leads the impressionable Jena to that conclusion as they tell their parents what happened.

Jena discovers a magical frog soon after Costi's death and she names it Gogu. Gogu is able to communicate but only with Jena. They are inseparable for years until the day the witch turns the frog back to its original form - Costi. Jena is immediately skeptical that he is a good person, having seen a vision planted by a jealous young vampire in which Costi terrorizes her sisters.

Over the coming years, Jena and her sisters discover they have the ability to pass through a secret portal in their bedroom. Each full moon, they arrive at the land of the woodland creatures for a night of dancing with dwarfs, fairies, and other strange beings. Jena doesn't realize the portal is there because she has been granted her wish to be Queen of the Fairies until the witch reveals that detail.

Jena is very interested in her father's business and spends a great deal of time learning everything she can. When her father falls ill and leaves the castle for a better climate, Jena is left in charge of the family and business finances. Cezar can't stand for Jena to be in control of what he sees as a man's role and when his father dies, he becomes a bully, demanding to take over the accounts for Jena. Jena begins to worry that her father might die and reluctantly accepts the fact that she or one of her sisters will have to marry in order to have a male in their household to take control of their lives. They throw a party but Jena's older sister Tati is uninterested in any of the young men, having fallen in love with a being from the Wildwood. Jena dances with several young men but Gogu finds fault with each.

When Gogu is returned to his original form, he asks Cezar to put the past behind them and join forces as leaders of the village and owners of their family holdings. Cezar, eaten up with jealousy at his brother's return, refuses the offer of friendship and leaves. Costi returns Jena to her role as overseer of her family's holdings but refuses to accept her apology for having feared him immediately after his change from his frog form. When Jena realizes that she does love Costi, she goes to him and begs forgiveness. He accepts and they make plans to marry.