Avi

What happens to the thousand pounds stolen on a London street in Book One? What of Laurence Kirkle, a stowaway on the immigrant ship Robert Peel? Will Maura and Patrick O'Connell find their father in America?<

Here, in this continuation of Beyond the Western Sea, are the dramatic answers. Though the ocean voyage is full of danger, not all the threats come from wind and weather. The conniving Mr. Clemspool is in first class with young Mr. Grout, who is haunted now by his criminal past. In steerage the children have as protector Horatio Drabble, destined for the acting role of his life.

On board we meet several vivid new characters, among them eight-year-old Bridy, who must confront terrible family tragedy, and the devious Mr. Shagwell, an Amercan mill owner sailing home in dire need of cash.

On shore waits Nathaniel Brewster, who has private reasons for wanting to help the O'Connells, as well as the vengeful Jeremiah Jenkins and a gang of feisty street boys. Their destinies cross memorably in Lowell, Massachusetts, where an explosive crisis is brewing, not the least of it the anti-immigration furor sweeping America in 1851. A final searing confrontation enmeshes each and every character.

For the reading adventure of a lifetime, begin with Book One: The Escape from Home.