This year's summer vacation will be very different for a young girl and her family without Sascha, the beloved family dog along for the ride. A wistful walk along the beach to gather cool polished stones becomes a brilliant turning point in the girl's grief. There, at the edge of a vast ocean beneath an infinite sky, she uncovers, alongside the reader, a profound and joyous truth.

"On a rainy day in a city park, the girl who starred in 'Journey' and the boy introduced at the end take refuge by a doorway under a bridge. To their surprise, a king emerges from the door just long enough to pass the two a map before soldiers apprehend him. Returning to the magical Pallonezia, they find the walled city in flames, under siege."--OCLC.