Forget the Old Rules, Anything is Possible.
At the age of twelve, Max is sent off to stay with his granny, who he has never met. Arriving at her huge and mysterious house, Savernake, Max realises that he has come to a mystical place, a place where the usual rules don't apply, where magic is hiding in every corner.
Discovering an old cardboard submarine in the nearby lake, Max sails through a sea of soup to the island of Nymphaea, which is ruled by King Trevor The Four Hundred and Forty First Or Is It Second. He is greeted like a hero and makes friends with everyone he meets - there's a pigeon called Fluffy St. Marie, a brood of chickens all called Ethel, Princess Cream Tea, and The Sandwich Girl, who keeps popping up everywhere.
Soon Max realises that things that seem totally illogical make perfect sense if you find the right way to look at them. And on the island of Nymphaea, and in the magic of Savernake, Max discovers a way to believe in himself and to leave the old rules behind.
