Clan chieftain Finn McCool has disappeared and his men are under attack. That’s the devastating news that greets Jack when he’s shaken awake late one night at home by bloodied and battle-worn warrior Cormac. Jack knows it’s down to him as Prince of Tara to rescue Finn and save the clan itself.
But first things first; Jack has to get both he and the bedraggled warrior out of the family home and back to Eireann without the rest of his family finding out. That’s not so easy when Dad’s got the Midnight Munchies and Nan suddenly decides to start poking about.
Some seriously swift talking, a surprise intervention and the mysterious rubifelis help Jack and Cormac travel in the magical trunk from Jack’s attic back in time to the place they hope to find Finn. But when the trunk is opened, it’s revealed that they’ve ended up … where?
Not the Forest of Roann from where they assume Eireann’s evil High King Goll has kidnapped Finn but somewhere else entirely. At first glance, it looks as if they’ve landed in paradise but Jack and Cormac soon discover that the steamy heat and dense jungle filled with strange sounds, strange creatures and even stranger – and deadly - plants, hide a land that’s rife with unseen dangers and inhabitants who would do them harm.
When the school boy prince is warned in the words of a magical song that he’s in danger of betrayal, Jack begins to doubt even those closest to him and with tensions running high, he is forced to change tack if he’s to protect himself from the traitor hiding in the shadows and continue his quest.
This, the fifth book in The Chronicles of Jack McCool, sees age-old Irish folklore combine with the celebrated Hindu tales of Lord Rama as Jack embarks on a desperate chase to track down Finn and find the next enchanted gemstone required to break an ancient curse. Jack tackles a banshee fuelled by endless greed and jealousy, a cursed golden idol that’s thwarted many bigger, older and stronger than he and a land full of dangers and secrets.
Jack has to use all his cunning to unravel a riddle and discover the key that will unlock his way to safety, accept help from the most unlikely of sources and look deep inside himself if he is to succeed, all while staying faithful to his destiny in this, his most challenging adventure yet.
