Casson Family

Saffron's two sisters, Cadmium and Rose, and her brother Indigo were all named from a color chart by their mother Eve, a fine-arts painter. When Saffron, known as Saffy, discovers that her name is not on the chart, it soon leads to another discovery. She has been adopted.

After Saffron discovers that she's adopted, life is never quite the same. Her artistic parents and doting siblings adore her, but Saffy wants a piece of her past. So when her grandfather bequests her a stone angel—a relic from the childhood she never knew—Saffy knows she has to find it. Realising that Siena holds the key, she stows away on a car trip to Italy. The rest of the family are engaged in their own wacky projects.

Indigo's going back to school after a long bout of glandular fever. He's not looking forward to it, as he knows the bullies will be waiting for him. But he's determined to stand on his own two feet—so when Saffy and Sarah break up a fight in the boys' bathroom, he's furious. Until he meets Tom. Tom is over from the States for a term, staying with his gran while his family sort out their own problems back home. He loves music and joking and is unfazed by the bullies.

It's back to school for the start of a new term. Indigo's returning after a bout of glandular fever and is dreading it. Rose is worrying about Indigo, and her new glasses. Saffy is busy dictating Rose's homework answers, while Caddy agonizes over ways to dump her current boyfriend. And their mother, Eve, is busy trying to dry her latest painting with a hairdryer.

It's a long hot never-ending summer, with no letters for Rose. Tom went back to America, and Rose hasn't heard from him since. No phone calls, no messages, nothing at all. New friend David, however hard he may be trying, is no replacement. And home doesn't offer relief either: Dad's left Mum for a young model, Caddy is questioning her imminent wedding and Saffy is trying to find her real father. Rose is determined to find Tom in New York. But what else will she find on the way?

Feisty Rose takes center stage as the highly original Casson family faces a long, hot summer. As usual, things are a bit chaotic. Eldest daughter Caddy is now engaged to darling Michael, and she’s not altogether sure she likes it. Saffy and Sarah are on a mission to find Saffy’s biological father (while cultivating hearts of stone). Indigo is cautiously beginning a friendship with a reformed bully, who desperately wants to feel like part of the Casson family.

It's Valentines Day and everything's changing in the Casson household. Indigo sets out to do something special to win over Sarah and ends up organising the Valentines Day disco and playing cupid. Saffy has a strange new boyfriend who teaches her all about the stars. Sarah falls very ill—when she can no longer laugh it off Saffy gets scared. And Caddy has fallen in love and is getting married...but not to Michael. With a wedding to plan everything's a little crazier than usual in the Casson household.

Rose knows that nothing stays the same forever. Still, it's hard to watch her sisters and brother growing up and moving so far ahead of her. Caddy is back, but she's not living at home. And worse—she's broken up with Darling Michael. Saffy and Indigo are so busy, they are seldom home. With her father in London and her mother painting in the shed, Rose is often alone in the house. Maybe that's why she agrees to her new friend Molly's crazy scheme. At least it seems crazy when Rose finds herself locked in the zoo at night with a roaring tiger.

Cadmium Casson is 12 years old the summer that everything changes. Not only are her closest friendships in jeopardy, but her mum is expecting a baby. And when the baby arrives early, Caddy's world turns upside down. Her mother spends all her time at the hospital, and her father takes over the household, which of course turns into one chaotic (though hilarious) crisis after the next. When her charmingly dense boyfriend dumps her, Caddy is at her wits' end. Then she discovers that the fragile baby she is so afraid of losing is not an ending, but a beginning for her whole family.