Much more than a murder mystery, this powerful novel is about coming of age and loss of innocence. The body of a teenage girl is found on the beach in the days leading up to Christmas, 1980. It’s an event that makes a huge impact on all those who live along Rocking Horse Road, which runs through the Spit, a long ‘finger of bone-dry sand’ between the ocean and the estuary. It’s an event that for one hot summer brings together a group of fifteen-year-old boys and then keeps them linked for the rest of their lives. Evolving from Nixon’s celebrated short story, this compelling novel shows New Zealand turning upon itself during the 1981 Springbok Tour. It examines how early events can influence the rest of our lives, and probes ideas of community, collective memory and story-telling.

One sunny morning the triplets disappear, leaving only a few mysterious clues behind: an open upstairs window, three missing rocking horses and some strangely shaped marks on the lawn outside. Could they be hoofprints? Used to their silly pranks, older sister Pearl sets out to find them. At the garden gate she encounters Thomas, the snooty grandson of a local earl, who warns her that the moors aren't safe today. But who is he to boss Pearl around? As she searches for the triplets and tries to outwit Thomas, Pearl's journey through the rugged Scottish hills unfolds into an incredible and perilous adventure. Pearl strives to outwit living, breathing rocking horses and several powerful land magicians, who turn the very rocks of the mountains against her. But can she trust the mysterious Thomas? And can she save her brother and sisters from the unknown fate that lies ahead? A tale of dark magic and destiny set in the 1920s Scottish Highlands.