The Tick-Tock Thief

Some doors should never be opened. But Leo Tick was never good at listening.

Leo has always heard ticking in the walls of his aunt's grey house. His aunt says it's mice. Leo knows better.

When a mysterious hole appears in the garden wall-and a tiny white hand reaches through, holding a pocket watch-Leo doesn't hesitate. He falls into the In-Between: a vast hall of a thousand locked doors, each one leading to a different time, a different life, a different possibility.

Armed only a golden key that chooses him for reasons he doesn't understand, Leo discovers the Garden of Lost Time-a place where forgotten memories bloom like flowers and every tick of the clock could be your last.

The Tick-Tock Man rules here. He steals moments, traps souls, and he's been waiting for someone exactly like Leo. Someone whose time is running out.

But Leo isn't just any boy who fell through a wall. He's the Gardener's son. And in a world where time is currency, he's about to become the richest-and most wanted-thief of all.

Welcome to the garden. Time waits for no one. Especially not you.