The sister is a knife thrower in a magician's stage act, the brother is an undertaker's assistant. Neither orphan knows of the other's existence. Until, that is, three terrible Aunts descend on the girl's house and imprison her guardian, the Great Cardamom. His dying act is to pass the girl a note with clues to the secret he has carried to his grave. Cardamom was one of three explorers on an expedition to locate the legendary Amarant, a plant with power over life and death. Now, pursued by flesh-eating crow-like ghuls, brother and sister must decode the message and save themselves from its sinister legacy.

Jon Mayhew is a man with a dark imagination, who has always loved writing and storytelling. An English teacher for twenty-five years, he is now a Writing Fellow for the Royal Literary Fund at Aberystwyth University. Jon is passionate about encouraging young writers and readers. He delivers writing workshops in schools and is a patron of reading for two high schools. Jon lives with his family on the Wirral peninsula.