Jack is on the run. Alone in the world with nowhere to turn, he finds a strange object floating on the rising tide of the Thames. In trying to assess the value of the relic Jack meets Barnstable, an alchemist who only adds to the boy's perplexity by his enigmatic ways. Dramatic events escalate and Jack's fortunes change beyond all expectation. But the mystery surrounding the alchemist won't go away. Has he really discovered the secret of making gold?

In this gripping novel, Kate Thompson, master storyteller, describes the extraordinary adventures of a boy trying to understand what really matters in the world.