"Awatea and his brother Tai are staying with their nan and pop on the farm. Its summer, and theyre free to explore. Theyre also helping spruce up Mrs. Carols house and shed, which Nan and Pop inherited, because the aunties are coming to stay. Theres always been a mystery around Mr. Carol, who disappeared. Uncle Kim says he came to a sticky end. But in the shed, Awatea finds an old satchel with some coins, a notebook, some receipts and two envelopes that make him think differently. With the help of Mr. Willoughby, Awatea pieces together what happened to Mr. Carol when he came back from the war, why he suddenly left one day in secret and where he went"--Publisher information.