Fifteen-year-old Birdie needs a fresh start - or at least a change of scenery - after a tough year at home and school. When her mom suggests they spend the summer exploring Europe, she's just relieved to get out of town.

On the surface, everything is as it should be when they arrive at their first stop: a fairy tale village called Bruges. The towering cathedrals, the sweet Belgian waffles, and the bike paths along the canals almost make her forget about home.

But it's not long before a chance discovery and a new friend named Ben draw Birdie beyond the tourist attractions and the guided tours, deep into the maze of cobblestone lanes where visitors seldom go ... and where the ghosts of the medieval city linger.

It's there, deep in the shadows of the past, that she and Ben meet a boy who has lost something precious to him. Determined to help but not sure how, Birdie and Ben soon find themselves slipping through time on a dangerous quest ... and willing to risk everything to find the way home again.