This is the wonderful journal of Cassandra Mortmain, aged 17. A heartwarming and completely original coming-of-age story, it is the account of one year in her life and that of her extraordinary family. With great wit and sensitivity Cassandra reveals her eccentric father with writer's block, her clever younger brother Tom, and eldest sister Rose, beautiful, bored, and mainly interested in marrying a rich man. Then there is their stepmother Topaz, a rather exotic artist's model, and Stephen who works for the family and is hopelessly in love with Cassandra. When two young American men, Simon and Neil, arrive to live nearby, the lives of this intimate community are changed forever. Cassandra records the events in her diary from the crumbling castle, which is their home. The result is marvellously funny and genuinely moving.Emilia Fox the narrator, is one of Britain's best-loved television and radio actors, and star of Silent Witness.