People in Fairacre simply won t stand for their children being uprooted, and carted away in buses like so many – er, so many–

Animals? prompted Mr Roberts helpfully.

No, no, not animals, said Mrs Mawne testily. Animals don t go in buses! What I mean is, we won t have it. We ll never let Fairacre school close.

She looked round the table. Her face was red, her eyes bright.

Agreed?

The village of Fairacre is buzzing with rumours of the imminent closure of its two-class school. As fears grow amid mounting conjecture, headmistress Miss Read s future hangs in the balance. And trouble is never far away as village life is further disrupted by tangled matrimonial affairs and a police investigation. The community must rally together to face this new threat…