Zafir has a comfortable life in Homs, Syria, until his father, a doctor, is arrested for helping a protester who was campaigning for revolution. While his mother heads to Damascus to try to find out where his father is being held, Zafir stays with his grandmother - until her house is bombed. With his father in prison, his mother absent, his grandmother ill and not a friend left in the city, Zafir must stay with his Uncle Ghazi. But that too becomes dangerous as the city becomes more and more besieged. Will Zafir survive long enough to be reunited with his parents?

After growing up in Australia, Prue Mason travelled Australia and the world as a flight attendant and sometimes co-pilot on a private aeroplane with her husband, a professional pilot. They lived in Canada for three years, then the Gulf region of the Middle East for twelve years where she worked for children's newspaper Young Times writing feature articles, short stories and a counselling column. As a CELTA trained teacher Prue also taught English as a foreign language to Arabic speakers. Her award-winning book Camel Rider and Destination Abudai are based on her experience of life in Dubai. Prue returned to Australia in 2001, but visits the Middle Eastern region regularly. She and her husband own a vintage aircraft and can often be seen at sunset flying around the Glass House Mountains near where they live.

Lyn White has been a primary school teacher-librarian and EAL teacher for more than twenty years and recently completed postgraduate studies in Editing and Communications at the University of Melbourne. She is passionate about children's literature, committed to developing life-long reading habits in children and has great expertise in engaging students with quality texts and teachers with quality resources. Lyn is a part-time teacher at Blackburn English Language School, a pre-service supervisor with Deakin University and professional development/conference presenter for the Through My Eyes series.