Sam Wade is a brilliant scientist. Somewhat eccentric and dashingly handsome, he is incredibly rich, unassuming, a little clumsy, and lives very comfortably indeed. But would brave be a word associated with him? Not quite. Sam tends to avoid creepy crawlies - and anything that scurries. But that's about to change. The big secret he's been keeping is about to be exposed, and life as he knows it is about to unravel. He knows what he has to do. He knows where he has to go. What he doesn't know is how to cross a city sliding into chaos, protect his eight-year- old daughter, Rain - who, incidentally, does like creepy crawlies - and his sister-in-law, Mimi, outrun forces that should not exist, and face a past that was never meant to return. Before long, Sam and his motley crew will find themselves beneath the surface of the world, drawn into hidden realms and ancient myths, and confronted by things that should not exist - and by an island tuned to a different channel: a place where doors disobey, corridors breathe, and time itself begins to misbehave. And somewhere along the way, a man who never thought of himself as brave will discover that courage isn't a trait - it's a choice. Because some secrets refuse to stay buried. And once they surface, there is no turning back.