On June 6, 1916, Dr. Hathaway, a museum curator, arrives at the manor of Mr. Burgess. Hathaway brings Mr. Burgess a stolen grimoire with the power to trap Death. Days later, Burgess and his son Alex gather their organization, a mythical order, to summon Death with a ritual. A being is brought forth, but Burgess recognizes that it isn’t Death after all. Meanwhile, young people around the world are suffering from abnormal sleep disorders. Dream is trapped as long as the circle drawn during the ritual remains unbroken, though Burgess offers to let Dream out in exchange for power, immortality, and a promise that Dream will not seek revenge on his captors, which Dream refuses. Alex searches the grimoire and identifies the captured being as Dream, and Burgess is pleased that Alex has figured it out even though Burgess already knew Dream was the only one of the Endless that fit the description of the captured being.

In November of 1930, Burgess’s assistant Mr. Sykes runs away with Burgess’s mistress Ethel Cripps and many of the order’s treasures, including three tools belonging to Dream. He summons a demon and trades Dream’s helmet for an amulet that will protect him against Burgess.