After his adventures on the other side of the great Mountain, Tam Goatland tries to settle down to the ordinary life of a boy goatherd. Until, that is, a routine trip down to the market at Mountain Town. Curiosity - always this boy's undoing - leads him to the River. And rivers all lead to the sea ... With only young Tarl, like him an unwilling passenger, for company, Tam is taken out to where the islands - known to him only as stories - beckon. And adventure, at the hands of the grim men of Gornost, comes to him again. He meets new friends - the sad and lovely Riana, the humorous Meg - and embarks on a perilous mission to aid them. This book is dedicated to all young readers who love adventure - and all older readers who remember fondly the adventure tales of their youth.