One freezing January night in rural Northumberland, the author hears the cry of an animal in pain. Venturing forth into a snowstorm, he finds a cat caught in a gin trap. On releasing it he follows it to a nearby barn, where the finds it dying beside two frail kittens. He takes the family to the vet, where it is too late to save the mother and one kitten, but the other is obviously a fighter and Mr O'Connor adopts him. During the day he has to work, so he keeps the tiny kitten in a jug by the fire and names him Toby Jug. This is the story of one man and his cat through their first year together.

The book is divided into four seasonal sections. You can read about the kitten as it becomes a cat—and not an ordinary one at that. The author takes him for walks on a lead, as well as out riding in a pannier basket, on his shoulders in the car and even out camping. More than that this book gives a lyrical glimpse into a long-vanished rural world where wildlife was more abundant and the country truly wild. There is plenty of good humor in here, as well as some tragedy and of course the joys of a rural life. Here too are some paintings to illustrate the tale, by landscape artist Richard Morris, which effectively sum up the humor of various situations as well as the wild beauty of the Northumbrian landscape.