Sometimes when Lexie fingered a string of shells she had been given as a little girl, she felt strange memories stir. It was as if something very precious was buried away in her own mind... Great-great Aunt Rita's old shell necklace carries a power that Lexie can't possibly know. Then, when it leads her to a new friend, she and Merrina enter the secret gully where Merrina's people live.But the gully holds a terrible secret, as old as the necklace itself. Will Lexie be strong enough, as she relives the nightmare her Aunt Rita endured?This deeply moving classic by one of our great children's writers is part fantasy, part history, and one hundred percent masterpiece.