Despite being neice of headmistress Camilla Fritton, new girl Annabelle's first experience of life at notorious girls' boarding school St Trinian's is not a happy one - indeed, she dubs the establishment "Hogwarts for pikies".

However, showing her own sense of individual spirit, Annabelle soon begins to find her own place in the schoolgirl mob, somewhere between the beauties and the geeks. Her crack-shot hockey skills play no small part in helping to endear her to her new colleagues!

Meanwhile, Aunt Camilla faces far more serious problems. A new, hard-line Minister for Education has been appointed, and he sees the school as the number one obstacle to a high quality education system throughout the country. What's worse - although whether for him or for her is not entirely clear - is that he and Camilla have a 'history'. She may look rather peculiar, but those heady days of studenthood made an impression on both parties.

If that wasn't bad enough, the school's debt has reached £500,000 and after several unactioned final notices, the bank issue a notice of foreclosure on the establishment. Miss Fritton is stunned by the news, but her charges are even more outraged at the thought of being sent to a 'normal' school, and set about an intricate positive PR and money-raising plan involving a television quiz show for schools, a super-gay German count, and world-renowned master artwork, Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring...