Tipwhit is a stoat who finds life easy and uncomplicated. And despite warnings from his friends, he nevertheless spends far too much time with his nephew Snodder, playing childish games and viewing the world around him as nothing more than a giant playground. But when a shocking discovery crashes into Tipwhit's cosy existence, he quickly comes to realize that far from being a place of fun and safety, the world he inhabits is awash with evil and great danger.Within a short time he is beset by killer stoats, treachery, loss of friends and strange forces that attack without being seen. And as he strives against the evil he has brought down upon himself, he comes to understand that not only is his own life in danger, but the very existence of his entire community.