Josh lives in the angry city, broken glass, wrecked cars, a world falling apart. In the North, his cousins live halfway up a mountain. He’ll stay with them all summer, definitely not his idea. The cat’s been sent away too. The train snakes in, red, silver, alien. Rushing to catch their flight to India, his parents drive away with all Josh’s luggage, even his phone. Before this summer’s end, will anyone cross the world so casually? On the train, violinist Li Bai thinks not. He and Josh talk about families, love, loss and dragons. In rural China, Li Bai’s family might be on another planet, but their world is changing too. Saying goodbye, Li Bai promises tickets for his next concert.

The train speeds North, into the high hills. Josh barely knows his cousins. Tall and dark, Adam rides a black horse. In snow-white armour, he fights with a silver sword. In the skies above, dragons roar. They live in the high mountain caves…

Allegedly… In her emails, Alice weaves all kinds of nonsense. There’s another girl, Rose. Older or younger? Alice has to be lying, dragons were never real. But Adam’s armour really is white, his sword silver and horse coal-black, the mountains high and mysterious. The new lakes used to be fields. The Army promise food. When the next storm strikes, Josh and his cousins are on their own. Li Bai? Li Bai’s role isn’t over… It might just be beginning.