East meets West; past meets present; criminal minds meet skilled artists - welcome to the Mysterium, a circus with dark and thrilling secrets at its heart.

Twelve-year-old Danny Woo is half-Chinese, half-British. His parents are performers in the Mysterium. Following their death in a mysterious fire, Danny is sent to live with his aunt Laura, an investigative journalist.

When Danny's school is closed after an explosion, he joins Laura on a trip to Hong Kong. She is researching the Triad gangs; he is trying to understand more about his cultural background.

But Laura disappears, and Danny is plunged into a dangerous quest to find her - which opens the door on the past he could never have imagined, and which leads him to question everything he has ever known about his past.

Julian Sedgwick resolved to become a writer at the age of 12. He has written continuously since then - but got sidetracked along the way - and has subsequently worked as a painter, bookseller, researcher and advisor for film and TV, graphic artist and therapist. A lifelong interest in Asian culture led him to study Chinese and Philosophy at university and has shaped much of his working life. In his spare time he is a fire juggler and spends as much time as possible drawing. Recently he has been co-writing with his brother - the children's author, Marcus Sedgwick - working on a graphic novel, and various film projects. Julian lives in the Cambridgeshire Fens with his wife and two sons.