 When Ben discovers a plot to kidnap Thomas, he, Thomas and Lil (a friend of Thomas) decide to run away.Bawden said that the novel is set in London and in Herne Bay, ‘a seaside town on the coast of Kent’, where Bawden's parents lived.Nina Bawden remarked she intended "to write about children actually escaping — even though temporarily – from the world of grownups".