In this compelling tale, two very different stories intersect with surprising results. There's the story of two African children, Kalu and his cousin, Aisha, who escape from their village after it's destroyed by rebel soldiers. The kids flee to the coast where they find work on a fishing boat bound for Britain. They think they're safe, until the nervous fisherman leaves them with little food or water on Last Chance Island off the coast of Ireland. Meanwhile, Spike, a Canadian teen, finds out that her father has died, and she is being sent to live with a distant relative, a woman who tends the lighthouse on Last Chance Island. Spike can't wait to escape and join a troupe of musicians she's met in Dublin. But one day, she discovers the two African kids in desperate need of help. Will she change her plans to try to save these kids?
Norma Charles is the author of nineteen books for children, including the Gold Moonbeam Award-winner, Run Marco Run. She lives with her family in Vancouver, B.C., except when she can get away to Hardy Island where she and Brian have a most delightful summer place that's a little like Last Chance Island, without the lighthouse.