Vincent van Asten

Throughout history when ordinary people find themselves under the shadow of evil, the Payne Family has answered the call of duty. A long line of knights, crusaders, monster hunters, police, scientists, archaeologists, and adventurers, there has always been a Payne protecting human civilization from every sinister force imaginable. Funded by an immense family fortune, the Paynes exist to protect us from the worst in ourselves and from elsewhere. Now Amanda Payne, the youngest of the next generation of the Payne Family is coming of age and preparing to inherit this awesome mantle of responsibility... but her father doesn't want her to follow in his footsteps!

The Wadden Sea is a dynamic environment with huge changing tides - the largest coastal wetland in Europe. The animals and plants that live here - in the water, on the seabed or on land - have adapted remarkable strategies to survive in such a variable environment. The natural world of which they are a part has evolved a finely-tuned balancing act. However, the encroachment of man is putting new pressures on it.