Baelfire, son of Rumplestiltskin, grows up watching his father being pushed around by stronger men. During the Ogre War, when Baelfire is called to fight, everything changes. His father, Rumplestiltskin, takes the powers of the Dark One to protect him. He watches as his father stops the war but then becomes more and more violent as the days pass. Finally, when he can think of nothing else, Baelfire proposes a deal. He will find a way to undo his father's curse without hurting himself or his father. Rumplestiltskin agrees, and a deal is struck. Baelfire gets a magic bean from a fairy that will take them to a land with no magic. The bean summons a porthole but at the last second Rumplestiltskin gives in to fear and Baelfire is pulled away into a foreign land. Having been abandoned by a father who he now views as a coward, hurt and alone, Baelfire hopes never to see him again. Meanwhile, his father sets out to find him, at any cost, even if it means using the darkest curse in the land.