The girls return for another term to find several new girls in their form. There is Zerelda, the American girl with her 'wunnerful' ways; Bill, short for Wilhelmina, who is mad on horses; and Mavis, who has a remarkable voice and is sure she is going to be an opera singer. There are some hair-raising incidents as the new girls settle down for an enjoyable and eventful term at Malory Towers.