Noel's Christmas tree

Three siblings—Diana (called Dinah), Chris, and Noel—adjust to life in a household shadowed by an absent mother and the anticipation of her arrival from India. Their days move between schoolroom antics, small domestic adventures, vicarage visits, and inventive play, with holiday preparations and a household Christmas tree forming a recurring focus. A cheerful, disabled youth and a newcomer named Inez widen their friendships, and episodes of rescue, lessons, birthdays, and private vows underscore themes of responsibility, creativity, and quiet moral growth amid the routines and uplifts of childhood.