Dan wants the new X-9000 high-top trainers more than anything, even though he knows his mum can't afford them. So when a hooded figure leaves a brand new pair of X-9000s on the city bus, Dan grabs them and doesn't look back. But the shoes seem to have a mind of their own and Dan will soon discover he should be careful what he wishes for.
This is a story of a child, a chicken, and a world that no longer, if ever, existed. In the village of Bromham, the animals are all in a whirl. There is a strange noise, coming from a strange thing, that nobody but Linus the fox-cub can understand. Only by joining forces can they find out what the thing is, and what exactly it wants. Will the price they have to pay to sort out the problem of Gallo the Golden Chicken be more than they are prepared to pay? And is he all that he seems? Perhaps being the only one who can translate his speech is too big a responsibility for such a small fox cub.