Isaac, the Author is a wannabe writer working a job selling color TVs when he gets a letter from Star Publishing that they wan to see him right away. When he chooses the quill, the Sorcerer’s Apprentice tells him he is meant to be their next author. 

In Storybrooke, the Author rewrites Gold’s story starting now. He can’t bring back Baelfire but he can rewrite it so that Gold was a hero in their story. 

August believes the Apprentice can help them with the Author. Hook realizes he put the Apprentice in the hat. Tinkerbell is able to set him free. He says the only way to stop the Author is to put him back in the book. 

When the Author finishes writing the story, Henry wakes up to find everyone he loves is gone and he is left with the book and the key. No one is left in Storybrooke so he leaves for the next town and finds a book being sold. Heroes and Villains by Isaac Heller. Henry tracks down Isaac and threatens him with the key and the page of the door but Isaac says his family is all in the book in an alternate reality. He says he doesn’t have the power to bring them back because he wrote his own happy ending, making himself a best selling author. 

Henry uses the key to put himself into the book to try and save his family. The author follows him and ties up Henry but now the Author is trapped their too but he wants to make sure that no hero gets their happy ending. 

An ogre attacks Henry but the Ogre Slayer saves him, it’s Rumpelstiltskin, the knight. Then Henry goes off in search of Regina but she doesn’t know who he is. Henry thinks Regina needs to find Robin Hood and kiss him because true love’s kiss can fix anything but she sees Robin Hood as her competition in thievery. 

That Author is captured by Queen Snow’s men. Snow plans to kill him but he knows her secret. The real Charming, her soulmate died because of Regina and she ended up with his twin. The Author tells her in order to get revenge she should kill Regina and Henry. 

Snow finds Regina and Robin Hood saves her. Regina feels a connection but he’s about to marry Zelena! Henry realizes that everything has flipped and that this is Zelena’s happy ending but that stopping the wedding could be his last chance to stop the book from being the villain's happily ever after. 

Regina tells Henry that a woman known as the savior was locked away in an impenetrable prison by Snow White years ago.