From the Caldecott Award-winning creator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret and Wonderstruck comes a breathtaking voyage of the mind and heart. In this masterful reimagining of the form he originated, two stand-alone stories—the first in pictures, the second in prose—together create a beguiling narrative puzzle.

The journey begins on a ship at sea, with a boy named Billy Marvel. He survives a devastating shipwreck and later finds work in a London theatre. There his family flourishes for generations as brilliant actors until young Leontes Marvel abandons the stage and runs away.

A century later, Joseph Jervis, another runaway, seeks refuge with an uncle in London. Stormy Uncle Albert and his strange but beautiful house, with its ships and theater programs, haunting portraits and ghostly presences, lure Joseph on a search for clues about the house, and his own life.

As readers piece together the mystery of how the two narratives connect, they will be swept up in a gripping adventure that is also a moving exploration of our need to belong and to tell stories.