Rosa, imaginative and affectionate, is orphaned at 4 and becomes the charge of a couple claiming to be her long lost aunt and uncle. By them, she is neglected and unloved, treated as an inconvenience by day, and locked in her room by night. The story, told through Rosa's eyes, veils their cruelty as she is naturally predisposed to see the best in them, and so the reader sees their lack of care and sinister nature before Rosa herself does. She becomes withdrawn as a child, and, intensely lonely, finds solace in her friendship with Balthazar, the pampered cat who loves next door, as well as in the book of fairytales left to her by her parents.

When her school trip is cancelled, her aunt and uncle are forced to take her with them on a business trip to Venice where they intend to sell their horrible articial grass to the authorities of the city. They abandon Rosa alone in run down hotel where the owners seem hostile and she is isolated, surrounded by foreigners who speak only Italian, and left to survive on her own instincts. As her loneliness increases, somehow so does the number of cats around her, and as her connection with them grows, so does the magical fantasy element of the story. In the end, the city, its cats, and its people rally around her, and Rosa finds safety and a home in Venice.

A new departure into magical realism for Hilary McKay (author of 'The Skylark's War' and 'The Exiles'), this book is a deep dive into the streets and canals of Venice, as well as an immersion into the life of a child who is lonely and needs love. It reads like a classic, full of beautiful imagery, empathy, and is a celebration of the power of imagination.