What kind of friend can Anna Greenwood be? She’s eleven and stuck in a deep rut. Kind, yes, and good at lessons and music; she’s also untidy, demoralised and unable to do much about it even if she had the confidence or skills to do so. Making a friend of the older and sometimes wiser Charlotte changes her life.

Charlotte has poise, good taste in clothes and masses of confidence, even if she has a well-deserved reputation for being unreliable. Taking Anna under her wing, she applies much-needed polish to her new friend and is surprised to find that her unofficial younger sister can challenge her opinions and make her think.