With his mother in hospital, Alex Cold is sent to his fierce, wonderful grandmother Kate -a pipe-smoking, vodkadrinking old reporter with blue eyes <<as sharp as daggers' points>>. Kate is about to embark on an expedition to the dangerous, remote world of the Amazon rainforest, but rather than change her plans, she simply takes Alex along with her... In a novel rich in adventure, magic and spirit, internationally-celebrated novelist Isabel Allende takes us on a voyage of discovery and wonder, deep into the heart of the Amazon.