Cirrus is a crazy-haired foundling, an orphan boy who has never known his parents. He has grown up in the care of the Hospital, and in the company of his best friend, Bottle Top. But Bottle Top and Cirrus are soon to be apprenticed to new masters - cunning practitioners of a strange kind of science. Little do they know what sinister mysteries await them . . .

A phoenix-like bird in a nest guarded by crows, a daring hot-air balloon ride and a ravishing villain - this is a thrilling and beautifully written tale for readers of 10 and up. Matthew Skelton is that rare talent: a writer of compulsively readable plots with true literary merit.