The mysterious arrival of Bella Blackwell, 'The Bird Woman', to the village of Ballyglen disturbs the peace and quiet of the Murphy household next door. Granny Rose is suspicious of Bella, and Rory doesn't trust her, but ten-year-old Mia falls under the old woman's spell. Bella tells Mia of a faraway place, a world where dragons and giants and ancient magic still exists, and asks Mia to become her apprentice and learn the old ways.

One dark night Mia disappears and Rory, determined to find his sister, follows her to a world he does not believe in. Riding the 'Shadow Hound', he journeys to a strange land of legendary creatures and terrible dangers.

Bella uses all her powers to prevent the brother and sister finding each other, but Rory begins a brave quest to rescue his sister, break the strange enchantment that Bella has over her and find a way home.

This book has been graded for interest at 10+ years.

There are 208 pages in this book. This book was published 2013 by O'Brien Press Ltd .

Marita Conlon-McKenna is one of Ireland's bestselling novelists, writing both for children and adults. Her children's book UNDER THE HAWTHORN TREE has sold more than 500, 000 copies. Marita lives in the Stilorgan area of Dublin with her husband and four children.