From Costa Award-shortlisted author Nicholas Bowling comes a tale of adventure, myth and music to make your heart sing …

‘Cast its spell over me from the first page … it really is my perfect book.’ Jasbinder Bilan, author of ASHA & THE SPIRIT BIRD

‘Nicholas Bowling is a thrilling writer.’ THE TELEGRAPH

Oran lives on Little Drum, where music is everything. Every islander has a birth instrument and a life song – and the ancestors, called ghasts, linger to hear the music.

But when the Duchess arrives from the mainland bringing orders of silence, she threatens the ghasts’ existence, the very soul of the community.

When Oran hears of a mythical instrument with the power to manipulate hearts, she brings her ghast best friend, Alick, on a quest to find it, play it, and change the Duchess’s mind …

• From the author of the Costa Children’s Book Award-shortlisted In the Shadow of the Heroes comes a thrilling Celtic-inspired fantasy adventure.
• The adventure and magic of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust with a Hebridean-inspired fantasy setting and lovable characters reminiscent of Pixar’s Brave.
• A story about how music has the power to reveal, to inspire, and to bind people together.