When a twelve-year-old evil genius tries to restore his family fortune by capturing a fairy and demanding a ransom in gold, the fairies fight back with magic, technology, and a particularly nasty troll. Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a most ingenious criminal mastermind, and heir to the Fowl family empire, a centuries-old clan of underworld figures and famous con artists. When Artemis kidnaps Holly Short, one of the Fairy People, to help him on his quest for gold, he takes on a Fairy world determined to rescue Holly.

Titre original: Artemis Fowl. First volume of the trilogy. Sequel: Artemis Fowl, the Arctic incident.