"This is not the key to a door, but the Key to Magic itself." But there is only one Wychetts Key, and there are two Guardians... A summer holiday becomes a nightmare for Bryony and Edwin when an argument about the Wychetts Key causes a freak surge of magical energy. The Key is lost, and the children are plunged into a sinister animal underworld. On one side is the notorious Ratello Mob, the meanest rat gang ever; on the other is the Sisterhood, a brood of venomous spiders led by the twisted Widow Splicefinger. At the mercy of the island's criminal inhabitants, Bryony and Edwin must forge rival alliances in a quest to find the Key and control its power. But a far more terrible danger awaits them in the Pit... Wychetts (pronounced "Witch-etts") is an ancient timber framed cottage which, although derelict and crumbling, contains an amazing magic power that is awoken accidentally by Bryony and her stepbrother Edwin. On discovering their new-found powers, the children embark upon a series of incredible adventures that will change their lives forever