Arabella Twigg is a very ordinary girl living with her extraordinary family. She loves her Gran, but tries to avoid her brother, Tom, who is always trying to get her into trouble.

Her life is quite boring until weird things begin to happen to her.

Arriving at school, she notices that something is very different as she walks into her classroom. She is standing in a Victorian schoolroom, just like the ones in her history textbook.

Arabella discovers that the discipline in Victorian times is very different than it is today.