Ann Bennett and Liz Miller have never gotten along. So when their parents marry, and they find themselves stepsisters, it does not make for a peaceful household.
When Kay Stevens’ father remarries and the family relocates, Kay finds herself in the awkward position of having her stepmother as one of her teachers at school.
Cousins Meg and Jane Wentworth are staying with their rich grandmother. Grandma is going to leave her fortune to one of her granddaughters. Jane discovers this and is trying to get rid of Meg so she will be the one to inherit.
Kate Wilson is the despair of her talented family because she is awkward and clumsy. Then Gran helps Kate to secretly join a swimming club and soon Kate is entered for the Badgett Trophy.
Moira Trent is a talented flutist. She is being abused by cruel relatives who are after the money she will inherit when she turns 18. Moira’s only hope is James Antrim, a famous flutist who once promised to give her help if she needed it, but she needs to find him. So she goes on the run to do so.
Newcomer Jane Baker has not yet made friends in her new district. She is told that when the full moon rests on Beacon Hill, wishes come true. Jane makes this to wish the scarecrow she has just made to come alive and be her friend. The wish comes true, and Jane names her scarecrow friend Suzy.
Sandra Stuart’s father marries Diane Billingham’s mother. Diane keeps playing tricks to break up the marriage and puts the blame on Sandra.
Betty Shaw is attending a new comprehensive, with pupils from two closed schools, Railway Street and Hopton Hall. There is a lot of rivalry between the two sets of girls and Betty is caught in between, accepted by neither side.
Penny Spenser’s mother plays “Paula Perfect”, a fautless housewife and mother on television commercials. It is Penny’s job to keep her mother perfect, because in real life she is the exact opposite.
In Victorian times, Bessie Taylor’s grandfather dies of an illness. He bequeaths Bessie his Barrow, saying “take good care of the Barrow, and the Barrow will always take care of YOU.” And the Barrow always seems to come to the rescue of the Taylor children whenever they are in trouble.
