Percy Jackson has always had a troubled childhood. But he didn't know how bad it could be until his 12th year. First, he
vaporizes his Maths teacher Mrs Dodds who had transformed into a
monster. Then, he finds out his best friend Grover is a
satyr. Finally, he watches helplessly as his mother disappears into thin air when they are chased by a
minotaur. It is only after his arrival at
Camp Half-Blood, that he finds a part of the answer to both the recent occurrences and mysterious incidents throughout his childhood. Apparently, Percy like most of the other children there are
demigods. Now, all he has to figure out is which of the Greek gods is his father, what is expected of him and how to go about rescuing his mother from the
Lord of the Underworld.
However when the
Lord of the Sea claims Percy, our young hero finds out that this may not be a good thing. Soon after, Percy learns that he can either choose to go on a
quest which may get him killed or do nothing and be killed anyway. The reason for the recent bad weather plaguing New York is a war brewing between
Zeus and
Poseidon. Zeus's
master bolt was stolen and the
Lord of the Sky believes that Percy stole it for his father. Percy has only 10 days to find and return the stolen
lightning bolt to avert a war between the gods. Percy agrees as the
centaur Chiron who is sending him on the quest believes the real culprit to be
Hades. Percy hopes to save his mother as well when he goes to the Underworld.
Percy and his companions, Annabeth and Grover soon realize however that their quest maybe doom to failure even before it starts. On their way to the Underworld, Percy and his friends must battle a string of monsters seemingly intent on ending their quest, the
Furies, Medusa,
Echidna and
Procrustes. Even offers of help from
Ares and Poseidon are suspect. Finally, when the trio do get to the Underworld they find out that not only is Hades innocent of the theft, Hades'
Helmet of Darkness has been stolen as well and he believes that Percy stole it for Poseidon. Percy and his companions escape, realizing that another party is the chief architect of the current predicament. Someone intents to start a 3 way war between Zeus, Poseidon and Hades.
To their dismay, Percy and his friends discover that the true culprit is
Kronos. He used another Camp Half-Blood inhabitant, Luke to steal from Zeus and Hades. When Luke was caught by Ares, Kronos induced Ares to join them. Although Percy wins a duel against Ares and recovers both Zeus and Hades' weapons of power, all is not well. The gods refuse to acknowledge that Kronos maybe awakening from his slumber. Luke too disappears after trying to assassinate Percy again. The only bright spot on the horizon seems to be the return of Percy's mother. Even the Lord of the Underworld pays his debts.