Cordelia comes from a long line of magical milliners, who weave alchemy and enchantment into every hat.

In Cordelia's world, Making - crafting items such as hats, cloaks, watches, boots and gloves from magical ingredients - is a rare and ancient skill, and only a few special Maker families remain.

But life as a magical milliner isn't without its difficulties . . .

When Cordelia's father Prospero and his ship, the Jolly Bonnet, are lost at sea during a mission to collect hat ingredients, Cordelia is determined to find him. But her Uncle Tiberius and Aunt Ariadne have no time to help the littlest Hatmaker, for an ancient rivalry between the Maker families is threatening to surface.

Even worse, someone seems to be using Maker magic to start a war. It's up to Cordelia to find out who, and why . . .