Darrell Rivers begins her happy life at Malory Towers two terms later than the other girls, but she soon makes firm friends with Sally, the steady one, and the adoring Mary Lou.

    Now, though Father is dead, it's Sally's duty to gather them together again.

    This was built by Master Balthazar Gellibrand late in Henry VII's reign. Some years later, a younger son, Nicholas, declared for Parliament in the Civil War and was disowned by his father. However, the family retained its property despite following the Royalist cause, because Nicholas had won Cromwell's favour. Nicholas was the direct ancestor of Jesanne, the heroine of the present-day story. The story itself is set in the twentieth century. Sir Ambrose, present owner of the Dragon House, has lost sisters, son and grandchildren in various tragic circumstances during and after the Great War (1914-18), and is the last of his line.