Sheltered teenager Charmain Baker is sent by her domineering great-aunt to house-sit for a distant relative, the royal wizard. She finds that his residence has myriad magical rooms and hallways and soon learns that there is trouble in the seemingly peaceful kingdom of High Norland. The treasury is disappearing, and no one knows where the money is going. Princess Hilda invites Sophie Pendragon, the main character from Howl's Moving Castle (1986), to come help solve the mystery, with her husband, Howl, disguised as an annoying preschooler, and the fire-demon Calcifer. A lubbock, one of Jones's more threatening magical creations, and its offspring, the lubbockins, threaten the kingdom, and it's up to Charmain and her nascent magical talents and her new friends to save the day. A whirlwind conclusion sets all to rights and leaves Charmain ready to start life outside of her parents' shadow.

Udgivet af Harper Collins Publishers U.K. 

Diana Wynne Jones
Engelsk forfatterinde som har skrevet fantasy lige siden begyndelsen af 70'erne. En af hendes seneste bøger, "The Tough Guide to Fantasyland" er blevet ret godt modtaget. Her kan man lære hvad man skal gøre og hvad man skal undgå, den slags steder. Desuden er hun kendt for sine "rigtige" fantasy romaner bl.a. "Howl's Moving Castle" der er blevet filmatiseret.