Publisher's Synopsis
When Alexander returns home to the family farm, he is surprised to find a note from his mother, Flash. In it, she says she must be away for the night, fixing a pump in one of the family's far-flung orchards. She asks Alexander to find a knife she left in the apple grove.
This isn't just any knife-Alexander's great-grandfather from Scotland brought it to New Zealand during the gold rush.Family stories tell how his friend and companion, a local Maori, carved the knife's mysterious handle more than a century ago. Alexander knows the knife is a precious heirloom.
Alexander's sister, Sophie, and his friends Trevor and Jo join in the search, but the knife is nowhere to be found. Trevor suspects the knife fell into the caves that run under the orchard, and Alexander, the eldest, mounts an expedition to retrieve it.
While the others stay behind, Alexander and Jo enter the caves-but what they find there will change their lives forever. Alexander will have to face his worst fears and learn the true meaning of courage. At the same time, his waiting friends must contend with dangerous gangsters in the apple orchard. When these men kidnap Gemma, a neighbourhood girl, can the kids band together to rescue her and help their friends escape the underground labyrinth?
