For orphans Jason, Kylie and Anna, magic was not a word that featured largely in their lives. At least, not until their american grandfather took them in. A comical old man with a name to match. Ethelbert Gobswistle. A magical campervan called Edsel transports them up to Yorkshire, where, in a bungalow called Cookiecrumb, they meet Gobswistle's friend, a black plastic Christmas Fairy called Etain. Rambunctious, authoritative and opinionated, she brooks no nonsense from either the children or the old man. And gradually, the small group becomes a family. But an ancient mythical witch, The Medb, pursues the old man and his family. She seeks his source of magic, the Anguinum, a powerful crystal carved to resemble a green glass apple shaped bowl. As they flee from her wrath, they seek the help of the Gwyllion, ancient fairies, who tell them they need three magical books in order to stop the ancient witch. But the books are hidden in the past...