Young Galahad lives in the South American jungle, where he plays with snakes and crocodiles. His parents are adventurers and Nobel Prize-winning authors. But when they fail to return from an expedition in their hot-air balloon Galahad must leave the jungle to live with his grandfather in a North American slum. In this alien and fascinating world he encounters both evil and magic. Join Galahad and the other main characters - his street-musician grandfather; blind and wheelchair-bound Wheels; Slim, who owns a tattoo parlour - as they confront the power-hungry exterminator, Creetch, who has invented a spray that makes people disappear. Boo the city"s mayor, who would rather juggle on television than face the threat of Creetch. Cheer for the unlikely army of cockroaches, flies and pigeons who fight for our hero in his darkest hour. "In this warm and graceful story, the author achieves an artful blend of the mythological and the earthly." From the citation for the Governor General"s Literary Awards (Canada)