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David Almond still sets the background of his story in the countryside of northeastern England. The cold and gloomy environment, his father's long-term illness, the rigor and cruelty of the school, the psychological haze after the war, and the panic that a new war seems to be about to break out are intertwined. All of this is presented from the perspective of a little boy, and everything makes people feel apocalyptic and anxious. As a survivor of the war, a fire-eating man makes a living with seemingly self-destructive performances, but all this is nothing compared to the cruelty of war. This work continues Almond's anti-war theme and makes people think deeply.

This is David Almond's modern take on the Orpheus myth. In the myth, Orpheus entered hell with his lyre, survived many difficulties, and finally moved Pluto to let him take his wife back. However, when he was about to return to the human world, he couldn't help but look back, and all his efforts were in vain. In this book, a seventeen-year-old British girl, Claire, is camping on the beach with her friends. During the all-night party, a mysterious wanderer named Orpheus appears with a lyre. Orpheus's performance enthralled everyone. Claire called her friend Ella Gray, who couldn't come, and asked her to listen to the song. Thus began the love affair between Orpheus and Ella. Seeing Ella fall in love, Claire felt sad. The most serious blow was that Ella was bitten to death by a poisonous snake. So she told Orpheus that he sneaked into the afterlife and wanted to bring Ella back, but the ending was as disappointing as the ending of the mythical story.