A World of Shade and Sunshine captures two stories: In the Shadows and In the Sunshine. They take place in a world inhabited by 'Fae', who are creatures resembling centaurs of various animals, and their automaton companions. In the Shadows tells of Pierro DuCarou, who is the first of her family to explore the Upperworld following The Darkening. In the Sunshine tells of Spider, a young fae who emerges from a mountain after the Darkening ends.