Sally has lots of problems. Her dad is abroad on an archaeological dig, her brother is in the army, and her mum has been taken to hospital, very ill with a tropical disease. Sally must stay with Mrs Spinks next door, who isn't use to little girls and doesn't quite know what to do with her. But the worst thing of all is that in trying to wind the grandfather clock in her house, Sally has knocked it over and broken it into many pieces. Her friend, Amber, tells her that if she rings Appleford 616, she can talk to God, and desperate Sally does just that. Sally is convinced that unless she can get 'grandfather' fixed, her mother will not get well. When she rings the secret number, she contacts a gentle old lady and her brother, who is called Godfrey and sometimes has been known as 'God'. After that things happen quickly, and in a series of almost magical happenings, Sally gets the clock mended and mum and dad come home. The novel is fairly long, but the characters are wonderfully memorable and the action never stops. Mum's illness is a running theme through the whole book, and she has to be sent to a big hospital in London before she can be made better. Good black and white line drawings.