When their awful aunt and uncle decide to separate them, Prosper and his little brother Bo flee to the city their mother told them so much about: Venice, Italy. The two orphans are quickly discovered by the brilliant and charismatic Thief Lord--Scipio, a boy said to be the most talented thief in Venice. They are taken to his refuge for other orphans dabbling in petty crime in an abandoned theater. There the brothers hide out with Riccio, Hornet and Mosca in between trips to sell Scipio's stolen treasures to Barbarossa, a greedy antiques dealer.

 

Prosper and Bo are just beginning to settle into their new life when their aunt and uncle arrive in Venice. They immediately hire a detective to find the boys so that they can finally adopt Bo and give Prosper up to an orphanage. Now with Victor on their trail, the brothers quickly get caught up in the Thief Lord's newest venture, the commissioned thievery of a most peculiar object: a wooden wing. It is said to be part of a magical merry-go-round that changes its rider's age, depending on the way it is ridden. The wing is the last piece to fixing the broken merry-go-round, if such a thing really exists.

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Scipio is desperate to grow up and leave his father behind. And with the way things are turning out with the detective and Bo...Prosper isn't so sure that he wouldn't take a few turns on the merry-go-round, too.