**SHORTLISTED for YOUNG QUILLS 2025**

"He should have been wary of it, scared of this strange character grinning out at him, looking from one world into another. But he wasn't. He knew without reason that this knife was an explorer."

The year AD 8. Kirin is restless. He is too young to join his father and uncle on their trading trips beyond the great river Savren. But danger also lies closer to home.

When Kirin rescues a girl from a slave trader, he is determined to help her find the way back to her family, yet Kirin and his new friend Ribby must be careful. His grandfather's animal-headed knife whispers a warning of betrayal in the face of an expanding Roman Empire, while an old woman's mirror shimmers with the secrets of the ancient gods.

For Kirin and his friends, this is the journey of a lifetime that could change everything ...

The gripping prehistoric adventure full of gods and Romans, myths and the secrets of the Dobunnic tribe in the last days of Iron Age Britain - with an exclusive author's guide to the archaeological sites

**MEDIA REVIEW**
'Against the menacing background of the Roman invasion, the idealistic hero and heroine overcome slavery, injustice, fear and danger, difficult journeys, and separation from loved ones. You will want to cheer when the villainous uncle gets his comeuppance ... by casting her hero Kirin as leader of the native resistance, Buffoni opens the door to further adventures and further novels - let's hope so' - CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGY magazine

READER REVIEWS

"What a great book. Well researched and beautifully written ... I can imagine some of their descendants might still be living in the Cotswolds and Gloucestershire valleys" - Five stars

"Brings alive a forgotten era" - Five stars

"Well researched and beautifully written. A real gem" - Reader review

Prizes

Short-listed for Young Quills 2025

MEDIA REVIEW: 'Against the menacing background of the Roman invasion, the idealistic hero and heroine overcome slavery, injustice, fear and danger, difficult journeys, and separation from loved ones. You will want to cheer when the villainous uncle gets his comeuppance ... by casting her hero Kirin as leader of the native resistance, Buffoni opens the door to further adventures and further novels - let's hope so' - CURRENT ARCHAEOLOGY magazine

"What a great book. Well researched and beautifully written ... I can imagine some of their descendants might still be living in the Cotswolds and Gloucestershire valleys" - Five stars

"Brings alive a forgotten era" - Five stars

"Well researched and beautifully written. A real gem" - Reader review

Anne Buffoni is a former primary teacher with a passion for education, archaeology, landscape and the natural sciences. Growing up on a farm near Cirencester, Anne joined summer archaeological excavations as a student, before beginning a lifelong interest in writing for all ages and encouraging independent investigation of the past and its treasures all around us. When she isn't writing, she volunteers as an environmental archaeologist. She is currently involved in a Neolithic long barrow site in the Cotswolds.