Pickpocket John Jacob Turnstile is on his way to be detained at His Majesty's Pleasure when he is offered a lifeline, what seems like a freedom of sorts - the job of personal valet to a departing naval captain. Little does he realise that it is anything but and by accepting the devil's bargain he will put his life in perilous danger.

September 1919: Twenty-years-old Tristan Sadler takes a train from London to Norwich to deliver a clutch of letters to Marian Bancroft. The letters, however, are not the real reason for Tristan's visit. He holds a secret deep within him.

Russia 1915. Aged 16, Georgy Jachmenev steps in front of an assassin's bullet intended for a senior member of the Russian Imperial family. He is proclaimed a hero and soon becomes bodyguard to Tsar Nicholas II's son. 65 years later, visiting his dying wife in hospital, memories of the life they had together flood his mind.

William Cody is told stories about the legendary Buffalo Bill - his father's grandfather. William leaves for Japan in his 20s, but is summoned back to England by his father, who has a grand plan to re-introduce the legendary stage shows of Buffalo Bill.

The story begins in 1743 and ends in 1999, and is the memoir of the extraordinary life of Matthieu Zela. The settings are global, the characters rich and diverse. In essence this is a novel about where we stand in relation to history."

It is 1936, and London is abuzz wth gossip about the affair between Edward VIII and Mrs Simpson. Meanwhile charismatic aristocrat Owen Montignac, heir to the vast Montignac fortune, is awaiting the reading of his Uncle Peter's will. For Owen has run up huge gambling debts and Peter's death has come not a moment too soon.

After the remains of music hall singer Cora Crippen are found buried in a cellar, her husband, Dr Hawley Crippen, and his mistress, Ethel Le Neve, disappear. Scotland Yard has soon launched a full scale hunt to find them.

1867. On a dark and chilling night Eliza Caine arrives in Norfolk to take up her position as governess at Gaudlin Hall. As she makes her way across the station platform, a pair of invisible hands push her from behind into the path of an approaching train. She is only saved by the vigilance of a passing doctor. It is the start of a journey into a world of abandoned children, unexplained occurrences and terrifying experiences which Eliza will have to overcome if she is to survive the secrets that lie within Gaudlin's walls.

The day the First World War broke out, Alfie Summerfield's father promised he wouldn't go away to fight - but he broke that promise the following day. Four years later, Alfie doesn't know where his father might be, other than that he's away on a special, secret mission. Then, while shining shoes at King's Cross Station, Alfie unexpectedly sees his father's name - on a sheaf of papers belonging to a military doctor. Bewildered and confused, Alfie realises his father is in a hospital close by - a hospital treating soldiers with an unusual condition. Alfie is determined to rescue his father from...

There's nothing unusual or different about the Brocket family - and they're keen to keep it that way. But when Barnaby Brocket comes into the world, it's clear he's anything but ordinary. To his parents' horror, Barnaby defies the laws of gravity - and floats. Soon, the Brockets decide enough is enough. The neighbours are starting to talk. They never asked for a weird, abnormal, floating child. Barnaby has to go...Betrayed and frightened, Barnaby floats into the path of a very special hot air balloon - and so begins a magical journey around the world, with a cast of extraordinary new friends.