Paddy Duncan thinks he's part of a quiet family of tailors. But when his grandfather is kidnapped, Paddy desperately begins searching for clues only to find that his family has been guarding a secret. It's a scientific mystery so amazing; it has been changing the course of history, through espionage, for over two hundred years. As he digs deeper, Paddy finds that Grandpa left him hidden messages, but instead of helping him find Grandpa, they instruct him to save another life that hangs in the balance. He discovers he is up against a long line of enemies whose sole aim is to destroy Duncan Tailoring, and Paddy feels entirely unprepared to thwart them. Yet, as one clue leads to another, Paddy learns that all the boyhood games Grandpa played with him-deciphering coded messages, untangling riddles, and making "memory pictures"-were not just for fun. They are tools without which he cannot now hope to succeed.Before all this, Paddy's desire was to travel the world, not remain stuck in a tailor's shop. Will he now decide to risk his life helping others in a dangerous world of espionage where he is a marked man? And all for the sake of the family legacy? It's a chance to change the world forever. We expect our heroes to be strong, wise, or cunning. But it's the reluctant ones, people like you and me, who delightfully amaze us because they are astonished when courage rises within them just when they need it most. Paddy Duncan is this kind of hero. The Uncommon Thread is the first book in The Cover Stories series, which fans of science-based fantasy, sleuth mysteries, historical fiction, and anything Celtic will love. It's a story about how life's scary, unexpected events can, once in a while, lead precisely where we needed to go all along.