Obernewtyn Chronicles

In a world struggling back from the brink of apocalypse, life is harsh. But for Elspeth Gordie, born with enhanced mental abilities that would see her sterilised or burned if discovered, it is also dangerous. There is only survival by secrecy, and so she determines never to use her forbidden powers. But it is as if they have their own imperative, and their use inevitably brings her to the attention of the totalitarian Council that rules the Land....

The second instalment in the best-selling Obernewtyn series. Since their takeover of Obernewtyn, the secret community of Misfits has flourished, protected by their remoteness. Led by Elspeth Gordie, whose extraordinary powers set her apart even among her Misfit friends, an expedition sets out to rescue a powerful Misfit in a distant part of the Land. Only she knows the enormity of their task.

The powerful farseeker Elspeth Gordie is sent to Sutrium, seat of the totalitarian council that rules the Land, to seal an alliance between the secret Misfit community at Obernewtyn and rebel forces. The journey takes her far beyond the borders of the Land, across the sea and into the heart of the mysterious desert region of Sador, where she seeks help to destroy the weaponmachines. But before her dark quest can begin, Elspeth must learn the truth of her dreams: she must understand why the Beforetimers destroyed their world....

After a kidnapping, Elspeth Gordie and the Misfits are forced to join the rebellion against the oppressive Council, using their extraordinary mind powers. But Elspeth must also seek out clues left by the long-dead seer, Kasanda, vital to her quest to destroy the Beforetime weaponmachines. One clue is lost in the past, forcing Elspeth to travel the Dreamtrails, stalked by a terrifying winged beast, with the cat, Maruman, as her guide and guardian. Only there can she learn more of the Beforetimer Misfits and their enemy, Govamen.

Friend becomes foe and trust is a thing of the past when the Misfits' most relentless enemy, on the cusp of ultimate revenge, turns Elspeth's world upside down. When Farseeker Guildmistress Elspeth Gordie sets out from Obernewtyn to travel to Sutrium at the end of Wintertime, she quickly learns that not everyone welcomes the changes brought about by the rebellion. Captured by an old and vicious enemy, she is drawn into the heart of the Herder Faction, where she learns of a terrible plot to destroy the west coast.

'It came to me then, like a chilly draught from an unseen gap that I had always known in my deepest heart that it would be like this, a slipping away from a life full of people I had come to love, in a place I had helped to shape, in a land I had helped to free.' The time has come at last for Elspeth Gordie to leave the Land on her quest to find and stop the computer machine Sentinel from unleashing the deadly Balance of Terror arsenal. But before she can embark on her journey, she must find a lost key.

The highly anticipated dramatic conclusion to the much-loved Obernewtyn Chronicles from award-winning and best-selling author Isobelle Carmody. Before Elspeth Gordie can continue her journey to find Sentinel and prevent it unleashing the horrors of the Great White, she must fight free of a strange prison where people are laid to sleep forever or cling to a suffocating existence, believing the world beyond their walls is already utterly annihilated.