Tatiana Taffeta runs a boarding school for the spoilt daughters of the very rich She marries a rich farmer, Fendalton Bassett But he has one fault - he keeps falling in love with other women So Tatiana decides to do something about it with the help of some very sticky custard, some sparkling diamonds and some very clever schoolgirls Although Bassington is a boy with everything he could wish for, including an island of his own and a butler to look after him, he is bored He realises that he has never had a birthday so he resolves to steal other people's birthdays - he becomes a birthday burglar