Three families, two worlds and one magical portal. No one comes to the second world on purpose. The portal between worlds only opens when least expected. But the Raft King is determined to change that. He needs Pip, a boy with an amazing gift. Pip’s is just the first of three tales, linking the twins Venus and Swimmer, captured from a slave ship in the first world, and Thanh and his sister Sang, from a later time, escaping postwar Vietnam. What connects these three sets of siblings is the adventure of a lifetime, some helpful sea monsters and a very special crack in the sea.