The Friends of Joey Jenkins

While out on a solitary bike ride, twelve-year-old Joey Jenkins comes across the ruins of a school and a remote schoolhouse. There he encounters Nora Carter, many years earlier a glamorous star of the variety theatre known as Naughty Ninky. Long retired from the stage, she is now a carefree, tough old lady with a warm heart, breaking out into her old music-hall songs at any opportunity.

Nora shares her house with four colourful ghosts who befriend Joey and help him with his homework and passionate desire to become an actor. Each has an important part to play in his development and alarming adventures.

Joey has a loving family and one close friend, Leo, a stocky red-haired boy forever getting into fights. But in addition, Joey must confront more dangerous characters, including a man-mountain ex-wrestler obsessed with knitting and two violent members of the London underworld with plans to force Nora from her house, destroy protected species in the wood, and ravage the countryside. Even more frightening are the ghosts of ancient plague victims buried nearby who might foil the schemes of these evil men if they can just be raised from their slumber.