In the spring of 1891, thirteen-year-old Sam Silverthorne is left in the care of his heartless Aunt Bertha as his father, Sir Arthur Silverthorne, Ornithologist to Her Majesty Queen Victoria, sets out on an expedition to find the infamous silver bird of paradise. But when Sir Arthur disappears without a trace, Sam runs away and embarks on a journey to find him. Nothing could prepare Sam for the dangerious, violent and unpredictable world that awaits him and the search for his father quickly becomes a fight for his own life.