Twelve-year-old Lark Heron-Finch is steeling herself to spend the summer on Swallowtail Island off the shores of Lake Erie. It's the first time she and her sister will have seen the old house since their mom passed away. The island's always been full of happy memories-and with a step father and his boys and no mom, now everything is different... When Nadine, a close family friend, tells Lark about a tragic boat accident that happened off the coast...

As he grieves his best friend Benny's death, Mason and his friend Calvin, who are targeted by the neighborhood bullies, create an underground haven for themselves, but when Calvin goes missing Mason finds himself in trouble.

The story begins with a young orphan running for his life. Lucky for him he runs into Samir, a portly huckster whose silver tongue saves the boy. Samir names him Monkey, and claims him as his new servant. But Monkey, a strict and devout soul, is horrified to discover that his new master is a liar whose dealings have angered every village he's ever passed through. The villagers have hired a collection of murderers, including a Viking berserker, a...