Can the prophesised mysterious strangers who will liberate Bascule from the grasp of the Black Queen really be two twelve-year-old boys?
A debate among the Guardians of the Universe led to the birth of a brand new world, one where the inhabitants alone must determine their future, and to mark its completion each of the Guardians bestows a gift. The Fifth, youngest of their number, had been missing from that first debate, his absence denying him input into Bascule’s blueprint. Somewhat slighted by this oversight, Dirius’ chosen gift is designed to set Bascule on a path to self-destruction.
But all is not yet lost. The Fourth proffers an alternative to the future envisaged by the pernicious Dirius. His gift: an enigmatic Prophecy. Clues lead Bascule’s Council of Elders to Eastwood Holme - where the fates of two families are about to be intertwined across the generations.
Transported to the strange world of Bascule, two twelve-year-old boys find themselves grappling with all manner of problems and odd characters, from a voracious two-headed Snaffu and a ghostly mind-reading Shimoom, to Snorri, a shy and most rare Rhonculus, rescued from the clutches of a bullying ogre. As similar as chalk and cheese, the two friends deal with these experiences in very differing ways.