"Outside the wind was blowing the wrong way and the world was filled with the smell of death."

Something is wrong with Cheshunt. Nathanial feels it the moment he arrives. It is not the model neighbourhood it appears to be - strange things happen, despite the curfew.

And soon Nathanial learns that his presence is no accident. As the dark calls its own, so does the light draw its champions, and Nathanial finds he must confront phantoms from his own past in his battle to stop the Gathering and its creator… 'The Gathering' was joint winner of the thirtieth Children's Peace Literature Prize in 1993 and joint winner of the 1994 Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award for older readers.