While on holiday in Africa, animal trainers Cyril and Mavis Tanner find an English girl living with chimps. Pretending she is their niece, Cherry, they bring her back to England to perform in their act – and to slave for them.
In 1925, Syd and Maud Weston force their niece Meg to fake being a Magic Robot. Meg goes along with the fraud because she thinks her uncle is sending money to pay for her brother Tommy’s treatment at a clinic in Switzerland. But the truth is that Uncle Syd is pocketing the money and Tommy is in the care of an old woman in the vicinity.
Rebecca Forrest is a clever, talented and smartly dressed girl. But this is not making her popular with her classmates and she is becoming a target of bullying. So Rebecca starts deliberately underachieving.
Claire is a selfish girl who does not want to share her home. So she gets rid of all the girls her parents try to foster from the Children’s Home.
The morning after a dreadful storm, a mysterious new girl named Mystine Marsh turns up at Grey Towers Boarding School and everyone treats her like an old friend. Only Lynne Barnes realises there is something strange about Mystine.
Ann Smith is a competent gymnast and her neighbour Terry Sykes a beginner, but with her own coach. Ann and Terry make a secret arrangement for Ann to take Terry’s place in her training sessions. But this leads to tangled situations.
Debbie Bruce has cynophobia (fear of dogs) because she was bitten by a dog as a baby, and she is too ashamed to explain the problem. As a result, the phobia is causing constant misunderstandings, ruined opportunities and other problems for Debbie.
In Victorian Times, rich girl Dinah Warren is thrown into the workhouse when she is suddenly orphaned and her heartless guardians refuse to look after her. Then Dinah is put to work in a coal mine. Things keep going wrong for Dinah, which make her unpopular with the other children and earn her the nickname “Detestable Dinah”.
Janet Gordon is delighted with her new baby sister Chris. But things keep conspiring against Janet and are giving her parents the false impression she is jealous of the new arrival.
Moira Penrose’s father conducts a botany experiment that goes badly wrong. He creates the Moonflowers, which cause anyone to go near them bad-tempered. He is currently in hospital, so it is up to Moira to destroy the Moonflowers. The trouble is, the Moonflowers can exercise an evil power over Moira and force her to do what they want.
