Brian’s mother, Alice, is terminally ill and whilst the family is coming to terms with her imminent death, the boy misunderstands a comment made by his father and convinces himself that all his mother needs is a little rest and a baby pygmy hippo. Alice used to work with the hippos at the local zoo and her favourite hippo has just had a baby - Amber. Alice is too sick to visit Amber herself.

Although the impetus for Brian’s quest is the terminal illness of his mother – the story is nostalgia-free. We are unsure, at the beginning, if Brian really understands the situation. What is clearly affecting him is the withdrawal of his father, the aggression of his sister and the depression of his grandfather. It is obvious that this despairing family was once very vital and active. Now they do not want to go anywhere or do anything. They have become a dysfunctional family because of the stress caused by Alice's illness and prognosis.

Brian has coped with this unhappy situation through playing with his friend, Robbie. However, there are signs of his internal distress. The plucking of petals off flowers is a powerful and important recurring motif. As are his periods of 'pretend play' that decrease in frequency as his character arc develops.

Brian and Robbie hatch a plan to kidnap Amber. They persuade Grandfather Joe to take them to the zoo in a van and their adventurous quest begins. Using some unlikely objects – a defunct ice-cream cart, a megaphone, cardboard masks, sugar-free lollipops, and a folding canoe – they successfully kidnap Amber. They get past zookeepers, security cameras, guards, television cameras and a zoo full of visitors. Back home they find his mother on medication and barely aware of their presence. Then his mother collapses and has to go back into hospital.

This is failure – their lowest point.

Undeterred, they realize that now they must take Amber to visit Brian’s mother in hospital. They have converted some of their antagonists into allies and together they work out a plan to get the pungent and unhygienic wild animal into the sterile world of the hospital.

They succeed in getting Amber past a drunk, a receptionist, a nurse and a doctor. When she escapes, a ward full of resourceful no-nonsense old women and their mint humbugs turns out to be very useful.

The final barrier is Brian’s father who is, naturally, over-protective of his wife. However, faced with a room full of visitors, a television camera crew, and the cast of Star Wars – he gives in and finds that he can smile again.