Young Harry Bateman comes from London with his family year after year to spend the summer at Light Trees Farm in the Cumbrian fells country, until he feels that it is his real home.
Initially disappointed that the annual school production is a Nativity play, Dan and his classmates find themselves and their town more involved in the production than they ever thought possible.
Twelve-year-old Margaret hardly knows whether to look forward to a chance to mingle with the famous at her cousins' country home, or dread the mess her brothers' mischief will make of the situation.
Exploring their new country home, Clare and Richard suddenly find themselves seventy years in the past, a visit that changes the course of many lives, including their own.
The misadventures of four teen-agers from the lowly neighborhood comprehensive school who suddenly find themselves training for a tetrathlon competition against the elite Greycoats Independent School.