Guess what!' demanded Mrs Haggerthwaite, bursting in through the kitchen door. 'I have the most amazing news. I'm going to be a professional witch!'...There was a long, long silence.

Jessica Haggerthwaite and her brother Midge are not impressed by what they see as one of their mother's latest hare-brained schemes.

So Jessica sets herself up as 'Jessica Haggerthwaite - Witch Dispatcher' and tries to thwart her mother at every turn.

But her plans go horribly wrong. Her father leaves home and it appears their whole family is going to fall apart...A brilliantly clever book that examines how the actions of each member of the family effects the others.