The series takes place in the fictional seaside town of Storybrooke,
Maine, in which the residents are actually characters from various fairy
tales that were transported to the "real world" town and robbed of
their real memories by the
Evil Queen, Regina (
Lana Parrilla), using a powerful curse obtained from
Rumpelstiltskin (
Robert Carlyle). The town's only hope lies with a bail bondswoman, Emma Swan (
Jennifer Morrison), the daughter of
Snow White (
Ginnifer Goodwin) and
Prince Charming (
Josh Dallas),
who was transported from the fairy tale world before she could be
cursed. As such, she is the only person who can break the curse and
restore the characters' lost memories, aided by her son, Henry (
Jared S. Gilmore),
with whom she has recently reunited (after giving him up for adoption
upon his birth), and his book of fairy tales that holds the key to
ending the curse. Henry is also the adopted son of Regina (who is the
mayor of Storybrooke), providing a source of conflict between the two
women.
