Ratburger

Zoe lives with her unemployed father in a council flat after her mother died when she was a baby, and the two are kept afloat on scarce benefits. Her father is deeply depressed and spends much of his time at a local pub. Sheila, the new stepmother, moves in and shows little care for Zoe, making the home feel tense and unstable.

A few years earlier, Zoe’s father buys her a hamster, Gingernut, for her birthday. When Sheila moves in, she immediately wants the hamster out and treats it as an unwanted distraction.

Gingernut dies in suspicious circumstances after Sheila’s arrival. Zoe had hoped to train the hamster and make it famous, which makes the loss feel personal.

A few months later, Zoe finds a baby rat in her room that is intelligent and can dance to music. She teaches it tricks and plans to keep it hidden from Sheila. She hides the rat in her blazer, but the headmaster and Miss Midge spot it and threaten suspension since pets aren’t allowed at school. Zoe resolves to find a safer home for the clever rodent.

Zoe goes to see Raj at the local newsagents and tells him everything about the rat and the suspension. Raj is shocked and warns Zoe to set the rat free. Zoe frees Armitage, but the rat returns, convincing her it wants to live with her.

Sheila learns of Zoe’s suspension and pressures Zoe to hand Armitage over to Burt, who pretends to be a pest-control man. Burt uses his rat-sense to sniff out Armitage, and Zoe is locked in her room as a result.

Zoe tries to escape by digging a hole through the wall into the neighboring flat, ending up in Tina Trott’s bedroom. She spies on Burt and discovers his burgers are made from rats and his ketchup from cockroaches. Burt catches up and attempts to run her over, but she escapes.

Desperate for help, Zoe finds her father at The Executioner & Axe and they drive to Burt’s warehouse to rescue Armitage and the other captive rats. They free the rats and thwart Burt’s plan.

Burt and Sheila arrive with Armitage and threaten to throw Zoe, her father, and Armitage into the burger machine. Sheila reveals Gingernut was killed by rat poison during her earlier mishandling. The ladder collapses as the two villains topple; Burt and Sheila fall into the machine, while Armitage survives. Zoe’s father clings on and Zoe pulls him to safety as the rats begin feasting on the criminals’ burgers.

Zoe and her father escape in Burt’s van, which they convert into an ice-cream van. He launches Armitage’s Ices, a business with new flavors that proves popular with local schoolchildren.

Meanwhile, Zoe learns Tina is being bullied by her own father. Tina apologizes to Zoe for bullying earlier, and the two become friends.

The next day, Zoe’s suspension is lifted and she and Armitage perform at the school talent show with Tina. It’s a small triumph that caps the day’s chaotic events.