No Strings on Her

Puppeteer Beatrice Snowdrop is well used to chatty dolls with attitude. Fortunately, headmistressy Miss Beatti knows how to discipline naughty toys. And how! A failed relationship forces Beatti to shut up shop and hunker down for winter. The days become lonely and cold. She misses crafting dolls, but she isn’t going to make another puppet or date another woman. Definitely not! Come springtime, old flame Evie Fine offers a cash prize for the best Easter doll. Beatti wonders if her ex wants to lure her back to the toy business or if she seeks to rekindle their relationship. Either way, temptation is difficult to resist and Beatti eventually crafts a new doll. Pokio ... Oh, Pokio, a feisty doll with cheek aplenty. She insults Beatti from the get-go and proves to be more than a handful. Worse, Pokio can read her mistress’s innermost thoughts, and can spot a fib a mile away. Quite soon the strings controlling Pokio are abandoned. It’s Miss Beatti who does as she’s told and Pokio who calls the shots. Switching roles is fun! They forget every rule of doll making and instead notice each other as women. Pokio develops into a loving, thoughtful doll who adores her mistress. Exactly what Beatti needs. It’s only natural and right when affection blossoms like the spring flowers. A kiss is shared, an ancient spell released. Can a doll become a real woman? What does real even mean?