Thaddeus Flint's carnival is losing money to the show down the road so he goes over there to find out why - and what he finds is the greatest freak show he's ever seen. Being a grifter by trade he kidnaps them - only to discover their secret: far from being freaks they're alien tourists seeing the world from the only safe venue for them. Or rather safe until Thaddeus Flint showed up. But that's all preamble. Sideshow is the grim and ultimately incredibly moving story of what happens next.