The islands lay low and dark in the sea that had claimed the lives of Adela Traherne's parents. Known to the islanders as the Island Child, her life became inextricably linked with Augustus Walmer, the Proprietor, in the summer of 1840 when a group of his friends came to see how he was restoring the economy and well-being of his people and the untamed beauty of the islands he owned. None of the people who came together in that summer was ever to forget what happened then, none of them was ever to break free from the islands grip, and the destinies of Adela and Augustus seemed fated to be forever linked.
At an exclusive school in Switzerland, mystery surrounds the identity of the beautiful girl who arrives each morning in a motorcade fit for the head of state. She is said to be the daughter of a wealthy international businessman. In truth, her father is Khalid bin Mohammed, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. Once celebrated for his daring reforms, he is now reviled for his role in the murder of a dissident journalist. And when his only child is brutally kidnapped, he turns to the one man he can trust to find her before it is too late.
When Mary Lennox was sent to Misselthwaite Manor to live with her uncle, everybody said she was the most disagreeable-looking child ever seen. So begins one of the world's most-loved children's stories.
