Paige Owens, bright, cheeky, confident, cannot wait to go to secondary school. Curtis Okafor, wary and new to Paige’s school, is much less sure. The only thing they share in common is the first letter of their surnames - which ensures they are forced into each other’s company on a school trip to Wickworth Manor, the local stately home.

Then Curtis finds a portrait in his bedroom of a young black servant dressed in livery. But why is the portrait hidden in the bedroom, and not in pride of place alongside the other portraits in the manor? And then Paige finds an intriguing letter, written over 200 years ago by Miss Verity Burton, who used to live at the Manor, that mentions the portrait. There is a mystery begging to be unravelled! And Paige and Curtis, in their very different ways, start work to find out what happened all those years ago …

A funny, pacy and informative adventure, from a much loved author, that will also give some background to the slave trade.