Derkein Odessa is both angry and concerned when his father appears after a long absence. He is bruised and bloodied and his friend Luther is dead. He had a bag full of weapons – plus a talisman which they dug up in Brasil. Taking it from the earth caused an earthquake and somehow transported him and Luther to New York.
Somebody wants that talisman; has killed Luther to find it, and now they are after Derkein's father. Despite Derkein's entreaties to this father to give up the talisman, he refuses, claiming it's his only connection to Arcadia and Derkein's (dead) mother, and he prepares to flee to England. But trouble finds them first.
Derkein has the talisman around his neck and a pistol in his hand when they are attacked, although he sees nothing. He is shot, his father disappears into thin air, and Derkein himself begins to age dramatically.

Charlie Blake is fourteen years old, was orphaned at ten, and has just moved in with widower Jacob Willoughby, who is in the process of adopting him. He suffers from extreme nightmares and also wears a talisman his parents' wedding rings.
On his first day in his school he does his best to avoid notice, but not very successfully as he stands up to the school bullies on the bus, then runs into them again in the canteen.
As Charlie settles in, he begins to make friends – especially amongst the girls – and begins to learn more about Jacob and the death of his wife. Things get worse when it becomes apparent that Jacob is a Fagin figure, intent on leading Charlie into a life of crime.

There is an undercurrent of tension in the allusions to earthquakes and tornadoes – a little incongruous for England, but we already know there is more to these events from the prologue, and Alecia Stone builds a sense of suspense and intrigue as Charlie's life starts to get very strange. Especially when he meets Derkein, who has aged twenty years in the few weeks since Charlie 'met' him in a dream. At the same time he meets a young boy, Richmond, and together they begin to unravel the mystery of Arcadia, finding that it is a real place in the centre of the earth. They find a gateway to Arcadia and are transported to a kingdom of exotic creatures, magic and angels.

The Talisman of El is well crafted with great characters and plenty to hook the young reader. It is an absorbing and creative fantasy adventure that is a joy to read. It weaves a spell of threat, mystery intrigue and suspense as Charlie, Alex, Richmond and Derkein discover who Charlie really is. There begins a quest to save Arcadia from the fallen angel Geddis and his demons – and Earth itself. Wonderfully vivid descriptions with plenty of action build to a dramatic and moving climax and it is a book that is very hard to put down.