The Abominable Doughman

Being bullied was new to Iris, but then, everything was new: new town, new house, new school, not to mention her dad’s new job and the reason for the move from London to the coast. Never could she have imagined that his dream of owning a bakery would lead her, her family and the country into a nightmare.

Amongst other things, the bully, Natasha, makes Iris steal from her dad’s new shop and sensing his daughter’s growing unhappiness, Gordon gets Iris to make a ‘worry loaf’ – a dough which she can pummel and knead and thereby release some of her anger. Almost at once the pounded dough begins to rise unnaturally, growing to become a living creature – an Abominable Doughman. Every night it comes to the house to feed on flour and water and every day it grows, before taking revenge on Natasha; first covering her with dough at school and then her entire house.

When Natasha disappears along with the creature, fingers point at Gordon – who else around there makes sourdough of the kind with which she was covered? His customers leave and, like Natasha, his dream vanishes. Under mounting pressure, he too makes a ‘worry loaf’ which like his daughter’s, grows to become another creature.

After huge drifts of dough are discovered around the county, heading in the direction of London, videos of the enormous Doughman are shown across the world. Now this second creature is hot on his trail and nothing it seems can stop them.

Gordon is arrested, but Iris thinks she knows where Natasha is hiding. Will the police find her? Can the creatures be stopped? Or will the family’s new beginning lead to a sticky end?

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