Publisher's Synopsis
Midgie MacAlpin is furious. Both of her sisters received their rings, special family heirlooms on their eleventh birthday. With a twist of her ring her eldest sister Morna can summon up the breeze, the north wind or the tempest, although she doesn't always get it right. Mary's ring of Gyges allows her to disappear at will. All Midgie received for her birthday was a big yellow bicycle and the only exciting thing to happen since school broke up, was her labrador Ghillie stealing the mince for that nights tea. Bored with the bicycle, Midgie sets off for the Isle of May in her father's little boat 'The Pride of Alba'. She has no idea she is setting off on a difficult and dangerous quest. As a descendent of Scotland's first king, Kenneth MacAlpin, she has been chosen to free the tongue of the talking stone. The Stone of Destiny has been silent since Scotland lost her independence in 1707. She meets a formidable opponent in 'The Ventriloquist' an invisible boy who can put lies into the mouth of anyone he meets. He is searching for the stone so that he can keep Scotland enslaved for his own gain . Will Midgie, with the help of her arguing sisters, Saltira and The Seven Monmaers, Crabbit Colin the Kelpie and Shamus the Shy, rescue her stolen ring from the clutches of the Ventriloquist? Will Scotland once more hear the stone's words of wisdom, so that it too can speak with its own tongue.
