Meet the Rat: A dancing football-playing gangster-baiting ten-year-old. When she foresaw her fathers death she picked up her football & decided to head for New York. Meet her older brother Bob: Protector of the Rat but more often her follower he is determined to find their uncle in America & discover a new life for them both. On their adventures across the flatlands of Winnipeg & through the exciting streets of New York Bob & the Rat make friends with a hilarious con man & a famous rap star & escape numerous dangers. But is their Uncle a rich business man or is the word on the street that he something more sinister true? & will they ever find him? Hughes has created a funny warm unique world that lives & breathes. Like I Capture the Castle Breakfast at Tiffanys The Curious Incident Hughes story & characters will resonate for many & for years to come.