Before he was even seven, Yuri had learned to hold his banner high and spell 'The Glorious Revolution'. ("The Glorious Lie, more like," grumbles his Grandmother, more than old enough to remember the proverb, "Only a fool cheers when the new prince rises.")

And, soon enough, those who oppose the new leaders start to vanish. No one sees anything. No one dares say a thing. Then Yuri himself is suddenly on the run, an enemy of state simply for letting drop a few careless words.

Anne Fine has written a dark, chilling and dramatic adventure that not only mirrors the recent history of more than one country, but also exposes the nature of political beliefs, and how these can so easily be taken and twisted to justify acts of real horror and inhumanity.