In 1935 Judith Dunbar is fourteen and she won'be coming to her usual school after Christmas.
After the holiday, she will be going to a boarding school. Her mother and her four-year-old sister are going to Ceylon where her father is working. Judith was born there, but at the age of ten she and her mother returned to Cornwall, and Molly had little Jess. Now after the holiday they will be gone, and Judith will go to boarding school, and during the holidays she will be staying with her aunt Louise.
When Judith gets home that evening, Aunt Louise is there. Then her mother says that her own sister, Biddy has invited them to spend Christmas with them. Judith is overjoyed as Aunt Biddy is fun and caring. Judith has a great time there, and she discovers that her uncle Bob is lovely, playing records for her and giving her a clock as a present. At the end of their stay Molly and Biddy have an argument because Biddy wants Judith to come and see them during some of the holidays, but Molly does not want to offend Louise. Biddy and Molly make up, and Molly thinks that maybe it is right for Judith to spend time with Biddy.
When they get home, a letter is expecting Molly, and Judith finds her crying. Molly says that her father has written to tell her that when she and Jess get to Colombo, they will move again as he has been offered a job in Singapore. Molly is unhappy because she is tired of change and moving. Judith and Molly talk as if they were good friends, and Judith makes her mother see that Singapore may be good for them.
The day comes, and Judith is to go to her new school. Her mother has bought her the horrible uniform that she needs to use there. When they were in the shop, there was a girl with her mother who were also buying the uniform, and Judith learnt that her name was Loveday Carey-Lewis, and Judith thought that her mother was like no other man she knows. I think that Judith and Loveday may become friends in the school.
Judith is now in the school, and she knows that she won't see her mother or sister in four years. The thought is terrible, but it seems that it is not so rare in those times. I am already hooked, and I love Judith. She is so refreshing and open!
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