A boy wakes up on a train to Edinburgh.He is shocked to discover that no idea who he is or how he came to be on the train — and once off it, he finds himself immersed in the chaos of the Edinburgh Fringe. After a day of wandering the crowded streets, he falls asleep and is woken by the sound of bells tolling midnight — only to discover that is the night of The Calling — a magical yearly event when all the statues of the city come alive. He is the only human ever to witness it. He quickly makes a couple of allies — the Colonel, the bronze cavalryman of the Scots Grey's monument, and the intrepid explorer David Livingstone. They christen the boy 'Ed Fest' and take him to Parliament Square to meet Charles II, the king of the statues, who isn't particularly fond of 'Softies' (humans).He assigns Sherlock Holmes to investigate the boy's case, to discover his real identity and to get back to his home and family. But as the bronze detective begins to decipher the clues, he discovers that 'Ed' is on the run from a sequence of terrible events; ones that could threaten his very existence. The Calling is a magical story set during Edinburgh's most exciting event — and nearly all of its characters can be observed, standing on plinths in the heart of the city, waiting for next year's Calling.
