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The best loved children's author of 'War Horse' and 'Private Peaceful' presents a lyrical, life affirming novel for ages ten and up. 'There were dozens of us on the ship, boys and girls, and we were all up on deck for the leaving of Liverpool, gulls wheeling and crying over our heads, calling good-bye...' When orphaned, Arthur Hobhouse is shipped to Australia after WWII. He loses his sister, his country and everything he knows. The coming years will test him to his limits as he endures mistreatment, neglect and forced labour in the Australian outback. But Arthur is also saved, again and again, by his love of the sea. Arthur and his friend Marty survive brutal captivity on the working farm, find a new family with the eccentric Aunty Meg and her animals, and discover their talent for designing yachts. 60 years later and now at the end of his life, Arthur has built a special boat for his daughter Allie. She sets sail single handed determined to find his long-lost sister in England and sets off across the world's roughest seas. Will the threads of Arthur's life finally come together? With map. 313pp, paperback.