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Winhal Eldras is a Wayfinder, able to Find anything lost: a lost ring, the way home, a blue dress in the marketplace, a lost child. But what happens to a Wayfinder who has lost his own way? Sometimes the only way to get through something is to charge straight ahead. After a tragic accident, Winchal Eldras must forget his personal problems in order to save his country which is suddenly threatened by a deadly plague.

Win is given a Finding by the Prince of the Heartland to seek healing from the plague. But the Finding leads straight down into the Rift, a dangerous canyon from which no one has ever returned. His only companion is Lady Kala, a telepathic Tazi hound, who is demanding and stubborn. How will they ever Find their way through the Rift to the other side? Win faces the problems squarely and begins his descent into an emotionally tangled world full of unknown dangers.

From School Library Journal
Gr 5-9-Eleven-year-old Win is a Wayfinder, blessed with the ability to find anything-a highly prized talent in G'il Rim, where dense and dangerous fogs swirl up from the nearby Rift, obscuring everything in the city for days at a time. Lady Kala is a telepathic Tazi hound, used to a life of luxury in the King's kennels, but secretly yearning for some excitement. They meet when the dog accompanies Prince Reynard to G'il Rim in search of a Wayfinder. They need to brave the Rift in order to find the Well of Life, which contains the only cure to the plague that is attacking the Heartland. Prophecy indicates that Win is the only one who can succeed, but a tragic accident has left him unable to find anything. When the Prince falls ill, Lady Kala and Win brave the unknown terrors of the Rift, including a giant eagle, a sly cave monster, and the desperate Wolf Clan. There is little humor, and the relationship between Win and Lady Kala isn't particularly involving, but Pattison has created an intriguing universe and some interesting secondary characters, especially Win's mother, the only person known to have survived the Rift, and the story is fast paced.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library

From Booklist
Gr. 4-6. Winchal Eldras, 11, is an apprentice Wayfinder, a member of an elite group of people who can locate anything or anyone. When Win's little sister slips out of the house one foggy night, he tracks her to the edge of the Great Rift, where his fear of heights causes him to freeze, and she falls to her death. Bereft, Win retreats into himself. Then a prince of the Heartland arrives with news of a rapidly spreading plague and taps Win to journey through the Rift to find the Well of Life, whose waters are the only cure. With resignation, Win begins the arduous trek, joined by Lady Kala, a royal gazehound with her own special powers. The pair winds its way past a giant eagle, a deadly crocodile, a venomous tatzelwurm, and other dangers. The relationship between the haughty dog and the boy is handled well, growing from mutual abrasiveness to bonding. The plot is simple, but the adventures will keep readers turning the pages. Sally Estes