Twelve-year-old Maggie's stutter causes her much heartache and only her menagerie of pets, whom she can speak with fluidly, provide her comfort, but when she finds Rumpus, an abandoned snow leopard in a forest in Cornwall, their chance encounter will change their lives forever.

Self-conscious of her stutter, Charlotte says nothing as her best friend is bullied, but as the school year goes on she realizes some things are worth speaking up for.