Two orphaned children are on the run, hiding among the crumbling canals and misty alleyways of the city of Venice.

Two orphaned children are on the run, hiding among the crumbling canals and misty alleyways of the city of Venice.

Befriended by a gang of street children and their mysterious leader, the Thief Lord, they shelter in an old, disused cinema. On their trail is a bungling detective, obsessed with disguises and the health of his pet tortoises. But a greater threat to the boys' new-found freedom is something from a forgotten past - a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself.

An atmospheric and magical thriller told in the best storytelling tradition by the wonderful Cornelia Funke.