Meet Gwyn Helliar: part-time school janitor, full-time eccentric, and reluctant Speaker of a parliament nobody asked for.At home on his island, Gwyn is surrounded by a cast of creatures who seem-at least to him-to have far too much to say: twelve ducks locked in political rivalries, hens who cluck insults like seasoned critics, and Smokey, a fat tabby cat who scowls at Gwyn as if it were a second job.Only Murphy, the fox-red Labrador, truly adores him... though even Murphy carries a tragic sigh after a recent trip to the vet. But when Smokey begins mocking the dog mercilessly, and the whole family starts to worry Gwyn has finally lost the plot, something has to give.With gulls strafing the yard, mallards attempting coups, a hedgehog offering silent counsel, and a pheasant named Fernando strutting by with Italian philosophy, Gwyn tries to keep order in the chaos. What follows is part slapstick, part heart, and entirely absurd.Warm, witty, and packed with animal anarchy, this is the tale of one man, one cat, one dog, and far too many ducks.