Compass of the Heart

When ten-year-old Cristie accidentally releases a long-imprisoned scientist with a dangerous vision, she must overcome her resentment and join forces with her unwanted stepfather to save their town.

Ten-year-old Cristie moves with her mother, Julie, into an old house once owned by her great-grandmother, Eleonore King—a scientist, inventor, and the town’s first mayor. Struggling with her father’s absence and the arrival of her mother’s new partner, Paddy, Cristie resists the changes in her life. In the attic, she discovers Eleonore’s notebook describing the Compass of the Heart, a device meant to guide decisions with empathy. The notebook also contains Alfred Hurricane, Eleonore’s former collaborator, who once tried to turn the invention into a tool of control. When Cristie accidentally releases him, he returns as a charismatic visionary, planning to impose an “algorithm of obedience” on the town. To stop him, Cristie, her friend Jerry, and Paddy must complete a century-old game and recover three hidden stones. Each trial takes them back in time and forces them to cooperate, leading Cristie to realize that no device should decide for others.