Ever since Dolly Jarvis’ father went missing after a plane crash, Dolly’s mother had blocked out the event in her mind by reverting to the days when Dad was just on a business trip and Dolly was just 7 years old. Dolly was determined to keep it a secret for fear of ruining her mother’s happiness, but this caused a lot of trouble for her.
Becky Bright won a scholarship to the exclusive Cavendish Hall School. She fell foul of Jane Manderley and Lisa Somers, two snobbish girls who made their minds up to get rid of her. Becky made a friend who appeared to be ordinary but was actually Lady Constance Bower. Jane and Lisa were aware of her title but Becky wasn’t.
In the 1880s, many of the poorest people in Paris, lived in a a shanty town near Montmartre, until one dreadful day when the wooden shanties burned down. Then the folk had to struggle to earn food and shelter. Some were mere children, like Sparrow and her crippled brother, Marcel. Her only hope to was to make money with her music, but it was not going to be easy for her.
Jackie Smith had been given a blank faced, jack-in-the -box, by her great aunt, before she died. But sometimes Jackie saw the face of a relative on the Jack and she knew that meant an accident would occur involving that person.
Heather’s big brother Basil did a lot for her when she was a kid and now she’ll do anything for him. When he becomes head over heels in love with a fluttery eyed blonde called Gloria Brett and can’t think of anything else, Heather tries to help him get Gloria’s attention.
Penny James will inherit £15,000 for the hard up Manor Hall boarding school, but the inheritance came with a very specific condition. She must keep Toodles, a chimpanzee, at the school undetected for one school term. Only three of her close friends knew of Toodles existence.
Twelve year old Jane Lake and her younger sister Katie, were taken to Skerry Holt’s Children Home after their parents’ sudden death. Katie found a charm in the garden and it was the exact replica of Skerry Holt. She put it on her bracelet without telling Jane. The charm had an evil influence over Katie, but Jane thought grief was the cause of her bad behaviour and she kept getting in trouble trying to cover for her sister.
Annie Shepherd, an orphan loved children so was happy to find employment as a nanny. The stories were set in the early 20th century and followed her in different jobs. One such post was with Mr and Mrs Hamilton who had one child Harriet, aged 7. Harriet was desperately unhappy and hated her parents, but would not say why. At another household the father wants his daughters to be proper ladies, but this causes trouble.
Kay Taylor was about to be adopted by her foster parents, the Martins. Then she discovered a new neighbour, Mrs Smith, was her biological mother and she was not pleased. She decided to pay her back for all the unhappy years she had spent longing to be part of a family.
Brenda Johnson was pleased when her best friend, Lynne, joined her in her new school, where she had also found a new friend, Alison . Brenda hoped they would like each other and they could all be friends together but it didn’t end up that way.