The story begins with the arrival of a new Siamese kitten at Green Hedges and Gillian names him Bimbo, after discarding such names as Paddy-Paws and Whiskers. Bimbo gets lonely and wants a playmate, as Gillian and Imogen are at school during the day and so a new puppy arrives in a basket from the station and is taken by car to Green Hedges. This new puppy is a white fox-terrier, with a black head and tail and his name is Topsy.
