Life is hard for Maria, living alone with an older brother who barely notices her. But a discovery one night in their antique shop, as she’s planning her escape, sends her off on a wild adventure to Bramblewood. A bizarre crowd of woodland characters waits there to welcome her; the Parliament of Owls, Tawny Blare and Garden Brown among them, beady-eyed Bullstrode Frogley, their Slime Minister; and of course Maria’s Lady-in-Waiting, a beautiful cobalt blue parrot named Hyacinth McCaw. But the arrival of a group of orphaned weasels begging an audience with their queen is only the start of Maria’s troubles. A chance remark by Lady Hyacinth leads Maria on a journey of self-discovery that can only end when she finally returns home to confront her brother.