A rollicking steampunk sea adventure in which a boy who suffers stage-fright is suddenly centre stage: the only one who can right an ancient wrong and save the kingdom. Rufkin must learn to try harder. He is sent to work in a salvage yard, where vicious cave lizards lurk in the mud, among rusting ship hulks saved for scrap. When he hears a small voice cry "Help!" from the riverbank mangroves, Rufkin and his reluctant new neighbour, Nissy, are caught up in a perilous sea adventure that threatens to bring the end-of-days. Rufkin, the boy who suffers stage-fright, is suddenly centre stage: the only one who can right an ancient wrong and save the kingdrom.