Lucinda's Whirlwind

Lucinda Ellis has never really mastered the knack for dealing with people. Not that she is shy. To the contrary, she is too forthright by normal standards, and has no qualms telling others exactly what is wrong with them. So she usually avoids people. Until her sister, Jayne, decides to take a sudden trip to America and Lucinda's perfectly ordered life is thrown into chaos.

With Jayne's husband, Brian, stranded in a remote Aboriginal community, Lucinda is forced to take charge of Jayne's children, David and Madison, and their ridiculous little dachshund, Wilma. The domestic dramas that unfold would be more than enough for Lucinda to deal with, even without the malingering presence of teenage Emo Wesley Heslop, who's taken up residence on the living room couch. But then there's also the mysterious disappearance of a stuffed eclectus parrot from the museum where she works, and the disarming affections of Madison's challenging "second-best" friend, Kieran Waterford.

Naturally, Lucinda is determined to do things her way while Jayne and Brian play out their mid-life crises. But as life begins to spiral out of control, Lucinda reaches a turning point. She discovers that her way isn't working, and she's going to have to find the courage to do something that she has always been terrified of... open her heart to new relationships and possibilities.