When the Bott family move into Croombe Hall, William and The Outlaws are horrified to learn that they are banned from playing in the woods. But the worst is yet to come, in the form of the frilly-but-formidable Violet-Elizabeth.
Exotic Uncle Neville has come to stay, and William decides to give a lecture on 'intrestin' animals. But with only a dead dormouse and a caterpillar on the bill, things are not looking too promising.