A plane crashes on an uninhabited island and the only survivors, a group of schoolboys, assemble on the beach and wait to be rescued. By day they inhabit a land of bright fantastic birds and dark blue seas, but at night their dreams are haunted by the image of a terrifying beast. Paperback , 225 pages Published June 3rd 2002 by Faber and Faber Limited (first published September 17th 1954)