Eli has lived in Crooked River his whole life. In fact, his family have lived there since Eli's grandfather, Clarence, built the town's first building and put the place on the map. It's a town full of secrets and mysteries: like the time when Clarence walked to the river one day and never returned, or the time back in Eli's childhood when his best friend, George, disappeared never to be seen or heard from again.

Eli has spent years wondering about Clarence and George, so when another young boy goes missing, he's determined that this time it won't remain a mystery.

`Hughes's prose is startling and luminous' Financial Times

`Hughes is a very good writer, if "good writing" has to do with precision, eloquence, beauty and passionately held belief' Times Literary Supplement