Earwig was left at St Morwald's Home for Children as a baby. Unlike the other orphans, she loves it there - mostly because she has the run of the place and seems to have a surprising ability to persuade people to do as she wants... So the last thing Earwig wants is to be sent to live with the very strange Bella Yaga. Her new 'mother' is actually a wicked witch, and Earwig will need all her ingenuity and talent (and some help from a talking cat) if she is to survive...