A Series of Unfortunate Events
Fourteen-year-old inventor Violet Baudelaire, her twelve-year-old brother Klaus, and their baby sister Sunny are orphaned when a fire burns down their house and kills their parents. Mr. Poe, the family's banker, manages their fortune and leaves them in the care of their closest relative Count Olaf, who is only interested in obtaining their fortune despite Violet not being the legal age of eighteen. He also forces them to work through grueling house chores and belittles them.
The day Olaf obtains full custody, he pretends to go into a store claiming to buy soda, but Violet notices the car is parked directly on train tracks with a train heading towards them. They manage to build a device to turn the switch controlling the tracks so that they are not hit. Mr. Poe arrives and takes them away when he sees Sunny in the front seat, believing her to have been "driving." Olaf initially says farewell, but threatens them that they will always be found.
The orphans are then taken to their uncle Dr. Montgomery, a kind, caring herpetologist who is planning to take the children with him to Peru. However, Olaf arrives in disguise as a man named Stephano. The orphans attempt to warn Montgomery, and he believes to an extent. Montgomery believes Stephano is after a large viper in his museum, which despite its looks, is actually very gentle. He is discovered dead shortly after, and the orphans cannot prove that Stephano is responsible for Montgomery's death. They are almost taken back to him when Sunny proves the viper's innocence when it fondles and licks her, disproving its hostile nature. Stephano flees the scene, ridding all proof of his disguise as the police pursue him.
Mr. Poe leaves them with their Aunt Josephine, a kindly woman who is nonetheless obsessed with grammar and has irrational fears. Olaf appears disguised as Captain Sham to interfere with their plans again. One day, Josephine is not at the house, claiming to have run away with Sham; Klaus takes advantage of her grammar skills to decode her location; Curdled Cave. A hurricane sweeps through the town, ultimately destroying the house but allowing the children to flee before the structure falls apart. They sail to the cave and rescue her, but attract leeches due to Josephine having eaten a banana. Olaf appears and takes the kids with him, throwing Josephine off the boat and to the Lachrymose Leeches after she corrects his speech.
A play is soon planned that is called "The Marvelous Marriage" that involves Olaf and Violet as the leads; a groom and a bride. Klaus's suspicions reveal that Olaf is planning to take advantage of the play to marry Violet in reality in a desperate attempt to get the fortune. Unless Violet follows her lines or finds a loophole, Sunny, who is being held hostage in a cage, will be dropped to her death.
Klaus manages to escape and finds a hidden tower in Olaf's house that, if positioned correctly, can shine light. He discovers this way that it was Olaf who set the fire to their old house. He uses this window to burn the marriage certificate before the marriage is officially complete, leading to Olaf's arrest. However, a jury of his peers overturn his sentence and Olaf vanishes.
Violet, Klaus and Sunny are allowed to visit their old home one last time. A letter lost in the mail finally arrives, and inside is a spyglass announcing their family's secret society. Though their future is unclear, despite the children's misfortune, they still had each other thus making them "Very Fortunate Indeed".
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