Up and up the wind drew him. Haoyou looked about him and saw the wholeworld beneath him. And it was his. The Great Miao, master of the Jade Circus, offers Haoyou the amazing chance to escape his family's poverty -- by becoming a kite rider. Strapped onto a beautiful scarlet-and-gold kite, Haoyou is sent into the sky, earning money, freedom, and unexpected fame. Miao even plans for Haoyou to perform before Kublai Khan himself. From Carnegie Medalist Geraldine McCaughrean comes a dazzling story of adventure, betrayal, family, and sacrifice set in the dramatic world of thirteenth-century China.