12-year-old Kate’s not the most confident kid. But when she and her younger sisters arrive home from school and find the front door open, their parents gone, and a bottomless hole in their backyard, Kate tries to take charge—until she finds herself falling endlessly into the darkness, leaving Abbie and Sarah to fend for themselves against mysterious intruders wielding long, curved knives. An ordinary June day quickly turns into an extraordinary adventure as the girls discover that their world is not quite as it seems.

 

While Kate navigates the wonders of the ancient civilization beneath their feet and learns of a plot by Latch 5, an underground dictator, to take over the surface world, Abbie and Sarah are spirited away by a family friend on a race across Canada, and then to Japan, in the hopes of being reunited with Kate in time to prevent the destruction of the world as they know it.

 

Will the girls make it in time? And have they got what it takes? With a little help from family, and the resistance, they just might succeed…

 

Destination: Matsumoto, Japan.

Mission: Stop Latch 5.

Deadline: Before it’s too late.