Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is reliable, dull, trustworthy—a proper young lady who knows her place as inferior to men. But inside, Faith is full of questions and curiosity, and she cannot resist mysteries: an unattended envelope, an unlocked door. She knows secrets no one suspects her of knowing. She knows that her family moved to the close-knit island of Vane because her famous scientist father was fleeing a reputation-destroying scandal. And she knows, when her father is discovered dead shortly thereafter, that he was murdered. In pursuit of justice and revenge, Faith hunts through her father's possessions and discovers a strange tree. The tree bears fruit only when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit of the tree, when eaten, delivers a hidden truth. The tree might hold the key to her father's murder—or it may lure the murderer directly to Faith herself.

Frances Hardinge is the author of several books for children, including Cuckoo Song (five starred reviews, short-listed for the Carnegie Medal), The Lost Conspiracy (five starred reviews, Los Angeles Times Book Award Finalist), Fly by Night (short-listed for the Guardian Children’s Book prize), Well Witched (SLJ Best Book of 2008), and Fly Trap (short-listed for the Guardian Prize, long-listed for the Carnegie Medal). She lives in England. www.franceshardinge.com.