When she finds the key to a secret passageway leading out of the walled city of Bridewell, twelve-year-old Alexa realizes her lifelong wish to explore the mysterious forests and mountains that lie beyond the wall.
Mr. Prickles, a lonely porcupine, is afraid he will never find love, until he meets Miss Pointypants, whom he hopes will be the perfect companion for his moonlight strolls and midnight feasts.
When various forest animals discover a mysterious object in the woods, they each use it for a different purpose, until a boy reads stories aloud from it, much to the animals' delight.