It's 1605 and England is divided by religion.

Tom's father is imprisoned and threatened with death for having protected a Catholic priest.

Twelve-year-old Tom embarks on an urgent and perilous quest to save his father from hanging, but gets embroiled in a plot with far-reaching and potentially deadly consequences.

Based around Guy Fawkes (here called Falcon) and the Gunpowder Plot, there is a real sense of place and period. The characterisation feels vivid and authentic, and the pace is perfectly pitched as Tom struggles to establish who can be trusted. When finally he reaches London, there is a powerful sense of fear and foreboding with each turn of the page.

This is a fabulous adventure with terrifying jeopardy.