In 1883, thirteen-year-old Katrien Courtlandt is more interested in science and exploring the Javanese jungle for beetles with her native friend than in becoming a young lady like her despised cousin Brigitta--but when Krakatoa erupts, the tsunami hits, and their families are swept away, the cousins must struggle to survive together.
Just before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, an anti-American Muslim group gains power in Java, and Isaac, the twelve-year-old son of American missionary doctors, finds his world turned upside-down.
