Shortlisted for the prestigious Sheffield Children's Book Award 2011
Headlong and heart-stopping, this is an adventure you just can’t put down. When Raphael and Gardo find a bag among the piles of steaming rubbish which they spend all day everyday sorting through, they just think it is a good find. But soon the police arrive in their shanty town and it is not long before the boys and their friend the Rat are caught up in a terrifying, nail biting fight for survival as they try to unravel a mystery with the police hot on their heels. The boys and the few adults they have to involve tell their parts of the story picking up where each other left off and propelling the story forward at a great pace.
Raphael is a dumpsite boy. He spends his days wading through mountains of steaming trash, sifting it, sorting it, breathing it, sleeping next to it. Then one unlucky-lucky day, Raphael's world turns upside down. A small leather bag falls into his hands. It's a bag of clues. It's a bag of hope. It's a bag that will change everything. Soon Raphael and his friends Gardo and Rat are running for their lives. Wanted by the police, it takes all their quick-thinking, fast-talking to stay ahead. As the net tightens, they uncover a dead man's mission to put right a terrible wrong. It's three street-boys against the world...
Andy Mulligan was brought up in the south of London. He worked as a theatre director for ten years before travels in Asia prompted him to retrain as a teacher. He has taught English and drama in India, Brazil, the Philippines and the UK. He now divides his time between London and Manila.
