In Korea in the early 1800s news from the countryside reached the king by means of signal fires On one mountaintop after another a fire was lit when all was well If the king did not see a fire that meant trouble and he would send out his army Linda Sue Parks first picture book for Clarion is about Sanghee son of the village firekeeper When his father is unable to light the fire one night young Sanghee must take his place Sanghee knows how important it is for the fire to be litbut he wishes that he could see soldiers just once Mountains firelight and shadow and Sunhees struggle with a hard choice are rendered in radiant paintings which tell their own story of a turning point in a childs life