In with the wrong crowd at school, Luke is falling behind in his work. His parents take drastic action: banning him from seeing his friends and making him go to a new school. Luke avoids his family over the summer by spending time with their neighbour, Ned Kelly. He decides to get expelled from his new school but changes his mind when he discovers that his new headmaster is none other than the neighbour he has been getting to know and respect. An enemy within the school and a runaway girl outside it make it harder for Luke to stay out of trouble with Ned than he'd hoped: by the end of the school year it looks like he'll be expelled after all.

It's a new school year at Hawley Lodge and this time Luke Brownlow is sure that everything will go smoothly. Of course there's the small matter of the ongoing feud between the Romans and the Vikings to resolve. And Benjamin Wharton is still being obnoxious. It's not all plain sailing in the romance department either. But at least he can count on Ned Kelly as a source of support. Or can he…?