Anne Marodeen

Matilda Brown is running out of time, and her granddaughter's sharp eyes don't miss a thing. Can she get Red settled and happy before the wolves return? Can she find happiness for her own future? See for yourself in this short retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.

Ill and bored with having to stay in bed, Marianne picks up a pencil and starts doodling - a house, a garden, a boy at the window. That night she has an extraordinary dream. She is transported into her own picture, and as she explores further she soon realises she is not alone. The boy at the window is called Mark, and his every movement is guarded by the menacing stone watchers that surround the solitary house. Together, in their dreams, Marianne and Mark must save themselves...

The Corners and the Binns are show business families on the verge of dire straits due to lack of jobs in the postwar economy. But crisis is averted when they snag a summer gig performing a variety show at a holiday camp.

It's not all smooth sailing, however. The Corners' daughter Dulcie is attractive and talented, but a bit of a diva, and when she sets her sights on the show's pianist and composer, Tom Pollard, gets not a flicker of response, then discovers that his focus is on Nella Binns, a dancer with real talent but no ability to "put herself over", danger signs flash.

The resulting drama, with a lush array of details about the perils of mounting a stage show, postwar life, and the lingering scars of war, is an irresistibly entertaining tale of family dynamics, ambition, and love.