From a Hans Christian Andersen Award-winning author, a mystery that begins with clues in a school in modern-day Brazil and continues through the ages to ancient Egypt, a medieval wizard’s castle laboratory, and the ships that sailed from Europe to discover the New World

Gaming whizz Will, along with his friends Sonia, Miguel, Matt, and Faye, gets an A for a group history project. But when their teacher reads from their work, none of them recognizes the piece. This is the first of a number of mystery messages which appears in their homework and emails, on their phones, and on their computer screens. Someone from the past is trying to communicate with them, and they must decipher the messages—the strange words from years ago—and figure out how to respond. The messages from Nefertiti, Marco Polo, and the other voices all have one thing in common: they all have to do with the importance of being able to read, and of history living on through the written word.