With inimitable style, Steig tells the story of a mouse, Abelard Hassam di Chirico Flint, who gets swept away in a driving rainstorm while rescuing his wife's scarf and winds up stranded on a river island for a year. Abel isn't just any mouse. He's a fastidious Edwarian dandy whose inherited wealth ensures the leisurely comforts he takes such pleasure in. But Able's high-toned life of leisure conceals a soul full of true grit:once faced with the necessity of surviving, Abel rises to the challange.