When her baby brother is kidnapped by crows, seventh-grader Prue McKeel ventures into the forbidden Impassable Wilderness--a dangerous and magical forest in the middle of Portland, Oregon--and soon finds herself involved in a war among the various inhabitants.

After witnessing a troupe of pickpockets pull off an incredible robbery in a busy Marseille square, Charlie Fisher agrees to protect one of the thieves if they teach him their ways, leading him into a world of adventure with global stakes.

"Maybe Archie Coomes has been watching too many horror movies. All of a sudden, the most ordinary things have taken on a sinister edge: a penny on a doormat. A man in a brown suit under a streetlamp. The persistent sound of an ax chopping in the middle of the night. He keeps telling himself that this is Seaham, a sleepy seaside town where nothing ever happens. Or at least nothing did, until his dad's construction company opened up the cliff beneath...

Rhyming text explores the life and work of folk musician Pete Seeger, discussing how his messages of universal understanding and social and environmental justice inspired generations.