Aoife, the 8 year old protagonist gets bitten by her pet gerbil who mistakes her finger for food. She does not know how to get him to let go so she goes all around the house asking different members of her family for help. They all offer her advice but nothing works until her dad tells her to put the gerbil down on a desk, realising that he is never going to let go if he is hanging suspended from her finger. As soon as Aoife does this he lets go and they are friends again.