When Elliot wakes up, he finds a strange ticket under his pillow. It is labelled: The Night Train. Unsure what this means, Elliot gets ready for school. It is the first day he will be at school since his nan, Grandma Ellen, died. Throughout the day, Elliot faces many things that remind him of her, especially music and is grieved. That evening, his mum plays him a cassette of music from his nan. Although he tries not to listen, he realises his nan wrote and recorded this music herself. As he listens to the music, he starts to hear questions in his mind and falls into a deep sleep. Just before midnight, Elliot wakes to the sound of Kimorin (a dragon) eating his food from last night. Kimorin asks him about the ticket he found under his pillow, and Elliot's journey on The Night Train begins. Through this journey, Elliot learns about the role of music in his family and embraces music as a way of remembering his nan.