Move over, Matilda, and step aside, Madeline, there's a new charming miniature heroine about to make her mark. Can one tiny girl change a very big school? Alice - Miranda Highton - Smith - Kennington - Jones is waving goodbye to her weeping parents and starting her first day at boarding school. But something is wrong at Winchesterfield - Downsfordvale Academy for Proper Young Ladies. The headmistress, Miss Grimm, hasn't been seen for ten years. The prize - winning flowers are gone. And a mysterious stranger is camping in the greenhouse. Alice - Miranda must complete a series of impossible tests. Can she really beat the meanest, most spoilt girl at school in a solo sailing mission? Could she camp in the forest all on her own for five whole days and nights? Well, of course. This is Alice - Miranda, after all.