One day, Paul (10) spots his neighbour Luise (11) and her friend Lea (11) playing with their tame coloured rats over the hedge. They call themselves the ‘Club of Colourful Rats’. Paul desperately wants to join, but Lea rejects him: no rat, no club. At home, Paul's desperate pleas for a pet fall on deaf ears with his mothers. So he secretly begins to learn everything he can about rats. Finally, an opportunity arises: Luise asks him to look after her two rats, Rattschi and Hatschi, while she is away. Paul sets up a loving home for them in the attic. But while Luise is travelling, everything changes: the animals disappear without a trace. In a panic, Paul tries to cover it up – with fatal consequences and wildly escalating