It follows the story of Paula who is accompanying her father to Istanbul to purchase a rare artifact of a lost pagan cult.

Cybele's Secret was first published in Australia in October 2007 by Pan Macmillan in trade paperback format.

[2] Cybele’s Secret joint won the 2008 Sir Julius Vogel Award for best young-adult novel with The Sea-wreck Stranger by Anna Mackenzie.

She knows that time is running out to find the statue; one of her father's colleagues is already murdered because of it and there are rumours of a religious cult of Cybele's followers somewhere in Istanbul.

She soon realises that the faerie folk have given her a task, as they did her older sister Jena several years ago, but does not know what it is, only having a few words from the witch Dragutsa to go off; 'You must help an old friend of mine.'

On the island they find many perils, including the influential lady who owns the library that Paula has been using, and who turns out to be the leader of the religious cult.

The statue is placed back where it should belong, with the villagers who live on the island and who are the true worshippers of Cybele.