Arthur used to have a good life in Berlin until the war started, and his family was forced to move for his father's job. Arthur hates his new home in Poland. Then he meets Merlin, a boy who lives in a strange place on the other side of the fence. What starts as a friendship morphs into something more, as the two get caught in a sinister secret that could cost them their lives.

The lake of Avalon hadn't been disturbed in over 1,000 years. Its water, black as night, hadn't moved since the day a small, flaming boat had disappeared into its depths. The stillness comes to an end, the waters finally move and Arthur awakes at last. But the world has changed. It is a cruel place torn apart by war and destruction on an unprecedented scale.