THIEF LORD

Bo (Jasper Harris) and Prosper (Aaron Johnson) are two orphan brothers on the run from their cruel aunt and uncle Esther and Max Hartlieb (Carole Boyd and Bob Goody) who wish to adopt the younger Bo, and send his brother away to a home. They arrive in Venice, a city which their mother had loved very much, and fall in with a gang of thieves led by Scipio (Rollo Weeks), the self-styled Thief Lord, a 15 year old who professes to steal from the rich in order to look after his charges. His followers, the gentle Hornet (Alice Connor), kooky Riccio (George MacKay) and ambitious dreamer Mosca (Lathaniel Dyer) live in a deserted cinema, the Stella, surviving on the money they can raise for the stolen goods from a local dealer named Barbarossa (Alexei Sayle). The Hartliebs hire Victor (Jim Carter), a private detective, to find Bo. When he discovers the plight of the boys, he realises that he should help to protect them, not to separate them. He soon discovers that Scipio is not what he claims to be. Instead he is a desperately unhappy rich boy, living with a father (Robert Bathurst) who regards him as a nuisance standing in the way of his own professional ambitions. When Scipio is commissioned to steal a wooden sculpture of a wing, it leads the gang to the house of Ida Spavento (Caroline Goodall), an adventurous photographer who has recently returned to Venice. Once an orphan herself, she had been given the mysterious wing by a num (Vanessa Redgrave) from the orphanage, who believed it had mysterious powers. Magic is an integral characteristic of the ancient city. It seems to keep a watchful eye over the children, particularly Bo who continues to see strange visions throughout his adventures in the city. As the unity of the gang is threatened by Scipio's deception, they discover that the wing is the missing piece to a merry-go-round which can advance or reserve the age of its rider. Scipio is determined to ride it, to escape the hatred of his father, and he encourages Prosper to do the same, so that he can be the legal guardian of his younger brother. All the while, Barbarossa is in pursuit of the material value of the wing, and the aunt will not give up the chase to take Bo away.