When 11-year-old Felix finds a message in a bottle during a trip to France, he is in for the surprise of a lifetime. Suddenly he is flung back 1700 years to Ancient Roman times, dragging his very unwilling 15-year-old stepsister, Zoe, with him. They are offered sparrows for lunch and horse-spit as medicine, but that is only the beginning! When they ricochet forward to their own time again, Felix and Zoe discover they have accidentally brought a high-class Roman girl with them... Can they navigate the strange Roman world - from opulent city to distant sacred spring - and return the 12-year-old girl to her family before time runs out? In this standalone companion novel to the acclaimed The Boy Who Stepped Through Time, featuring a whole new cast of characters, award-winning author Anna Ciddor has created a roller-coaster adventure that will have young readers on the edge of their seats.

When Perry steps into a crumbling ruin while on holiday in France, he is not expecting to be transported back 1700 years to Roman times. While he hunts desperately for a way home, he must blend in as a slave - even if it means eating mice for dinner! Gradually, Perry is caught up in the fascinating world of grand Villa Rubia and a life he could never have imagined. But when he makes a new friend, he thinks he might already know her terrible fate. Perry is faced with an impossible choice: to find his way home or stay and guard his friend's life - and risk being trapped in the past forever...