Evangelina "Evie" Sage, a young woman desperate for work to support her sick father and little sister Lyssa, wanders into the forbidden Hickory Forest after giving away her only job offer at a village fair to a mother with three children. The Kingdom of Rennedawn has avoided the forest for nearly a decade due to rumors that The Villain, the kingdom's most feared enemy, lurks near its edges. Evie, preoccupied with her troubles, ventures deeper into the trees and discovers the stream she's been splashing on her face has turned red with blood.

Following the blood upstream, Evie discovers what she initially mistakes for an injured animal but turns out to be a cloaked man. He grabs her and pulls her to the ground, warning her to be silent as the king's Valiant Guards hunt him nearby. Evie quickly deduces that the man is The Villain himself. Rather than feeling terror, she finds herself laughing at the absurdity of her situation. Together they crawl behind a tree and begin to flee, with an arrow grazing Evie's back as they escape.

During their flight through the forest, Evie is stunned to discover The Villain is young—perhaps twenty-eight or twenty-nine—and strikingly handsome, nothing like the grotesque figure depicted on wanted posters. She boldly touches his face to prove his symmetry, gives him her wool scarf for his wounds, and banters with him despite the danger. He reveals the guards were trying to steal Kingsley, a magical crown-wearing frog in his care who can communicate with humans. Evie trips and falls, but The Villain doubles back to help her up rather than abandoning her.

They reach Massacre Manor, hidden behind a magical barrier that Evie walks face-first into. The enormous, crumbling castle is surrounded by a surprisingly well-kept garden. Inside, The Villain offers Evie a job, reasoning that she showed cutthroat thinking, helped him despite his reputation, and now knows too much about him and his hideout to simply walk away. Evie discloses that her father was once a knight for the king, but The Villain is unconcerned since her father is retired and ill.

After negotiating—Evie insists she won't hurt people, help hurt people, or become one of his "lady friends"—The Villain explains she is now a liability who has seen his face and knows the manor's location. He offers her a generous salary and promises to spare her village from his "truly murderous intents." Evie accepts, and The Villain reveals her new role: his personal assistant. He instructs her to call him "sir" rather than "Your Evilness."