A wildly inventive tale from the creator of Bartholomew the Adventurer. "Hoffman comes across as a master in the teen fantasy genre..." -Romuald Dzemo "...magical, exciting, witty and wise..." -Jack Magnus Orville Wellington Mouse lives with his Mum in the quiet fishing village of Muridaan Falls, Symoca. His life takes an unexpected turn when he learns his best friend Sophia Mouse is not only from another planet, but is also a member of the Shapers Guild, a group of powerful mice who are able to convert their thoughts into physical objects. When Orville notices a group of seven glowbirds exhibiting rather extraordinary behavior, he and Sophia attempt to uncover the origin of the unusual birds but soon find themselves enmeshed in a fiendish plot to embroil Symoca in a horrific war. Captured by the powerful and mysterious Red Mouse, the two adventurers are hurled through a spectral door into the terrifying world of Periculum, home of the dreaded giant carnivorous centipedes. With help from the secretive Metaphysical Adventurers, Proto the Rabbiton, the Mad Mouse of Muridaan, a gigantic Gnorli bird, some ghostly Anarkkian warriors, and the enigmatic Monks of the Blue Robe, Orville and Sophia must find their way home and stop the evil Red Mouse before he destroys Symoca.