It's 1908 and times are hard. All very well for the leisured River Bankers with their hobbies, excursions and private incomes but young Baxter Ferret has to work long and hard to support his widowed mother and hungry siblings. Baxter is a ferret with a passion. He loves engines and when his employer buys the splendid Throgmorton Squeezer lorry Baxter willingly dedicates himself to its maintenance. That's until he meets the lunatic Mr Toad driving out of control on a dark night on the edge of the Wild Wood.