Young Nightingale, just arrived form the country, sits bashfully at the dining table of his new master, Mr. Paris. It is the first night of his seven-year apprenticeship – seven years he must spend in the household of Mr. and Mrs. Paris, the handsome and prosperous pair, and their pretty daughter Lucinda. How unfortunate that a mirror lightly tossed to him that very first evening by Lucinda should break and augur seven years bad luck!

Mr. Paris is a master carver of mirror frames. Mirrors glint from every corner of his workroom, while rich customers call to commission elaborately carved gilt frames. Nightingale must sweep floors, run errands, and learn what he can. He is totally bewildered – especially when Miss Lucinda starts playing tricks. For Lucinda, adept at games with mirrors and reflections, seems bent on tormenting the life out of the new apprentice, and her jokes and surprises take a very nasty turn before Nightingale can collect his wits and turn the tables on her.

In this brilliant and comic story, full of unexpected twists, Leon Garfield crates a vivid picture of the busy life of a London apprentice of the eighteenth century.