ÒI believe I can just see you on the streets of that bright city.Ó

GranÕs gone now, but her words live on with Nicholas Dray, almost twelve, as he makes his way from the hot cotton fields to that Queen of Cities: San Francisco. NickÕs on his own for the first time, with nowhere to turn. Then he meets jaunty, talkative Pat Patterson, owner of the most beautiful storeÐand the friendliest golden dogÐin all the city. And for the first time in months, Nick feels safe. Safe in San Francisco.

But the year is 1906, the month is April, and early one morning the walls begin to shake. The floor begins to buckle. And the earth opens up. A devastating earthquake and then raging firestorms ravage the city, and Nick is right in the middle of it all. But for a young boy whoÕs got few ties and nothing to lose, whatÕs the right choice: escape to safety or stayÐat deadly riskÐto help others?

From acclaimed author Deborah Hopkinson comes a suspenseful and carefully researched novel of the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire and of one boyÕs heroic fight to survive it.

From the Hardcover edition.