Ben and Fee MacTavish and the rest of the School Ship Tobermory crew head down under to take part in a tall ships race, but after a good start the Tobermory runs aground after it drops out to rescue a local boy, Kimba, stranded on the rocks. When the ship's dog Henry disappears, Kimba helps Ben, Fee and their friends find him. But as the trail leads them deeper into the Outback, they begin to realize that a missing dog is the least of their problems. Who are the mysterious couple claiming to be flying doctors, and why are they interested in an abandoned mine?

Alexander McCall Smith is the author of the highly successful No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, which has sold over twenty-five million copies. Since then he has devoted his time to the writing of fiction and has seen his various series of books translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers throughout the world. These include the 44 Scotland Street novels, first published as a serial novel in the Scotsman, the Isabel Dalhousie novels, the Von Igelfeld series and the Corduroy Mansions novels.