There was a new family in Browning Street, Walworth – the Harrisons. Respectable and well-behaved, the only thing unusual about them was that Mr Harrison was never there. He was a sailor, said Ma Harrison, away fighting pirates in the China Seas. Actually, ‘Knocker’ Harrison was in Marsham Gaol – he had unfortunately burgled a lady’s suite when she happened to be there. Pa wasn’t really a very good burglar.

When young Nick Harrison, eldest son and heir of Ma and Knocker, met Annabelle Somers, he found himself in a very difficult situation. For 17-year-old Annabelle was a peach of a girl, was related to the highly respectable Adams family and was really quite keen on Nick, very interested in him and in his family. What with keeping Annabelle at arm’s length in case she found out about Pa, and with the problems of running the Browning Street Rovers football team (the ball was owned by Chrissie Evans who laid down her own rules about the team), Nick sometimes wondered if his life would ever be sorted out.