Determined not to be weird all his life like his neighbor, Charley Maplewood decides to throw himself a tenth birthday party, complete with a "house of horrors" theme, but first he will have to make some friends to invite.
When eleven-year-old Rosy's friend Hermione announces that Rosy is having a Valentine's party, a dismayed Rosy finds herself in unwilling competition with the sophisticated Christi who is planning an exclusive party on the same day.