Book excerpt: The year is 1919 is Aventine, England. The Great War is nearly over, a drought is on, and water is scarce. The perils from this conflict have had many tragic consequences, especially for Atlas Rohan, a twelve-year-old boy from the Cotswolds whose mother has died from the fever and his father, a soldier fighting in France, has gone missing. Like most war orphans of the region, he is forced to leave his home and confined to the St. Septus chapel, governed by the cruel headmaster Captain Crassus. But somehow, despite these horrible circumstances, he manages to escape her clutches and find solace under the local clockmaker's shop. From the wise old Gideon Pendulum, he learns about the many mysteries concerning the medieval village of Aventine, how nearly two thousand years ago it was inhabited by the Romans, and that underneath the entire town lies their ancient ruins, including a temple hidden deep in the Elysium cemetery where a labyrinth guards a spring and many other dark secrets.