Just whose backyard is it, anyway? Spring has sprung, and Verne and his woodland friends awaken from their long winter''s nap to discover that a large, green hedge has cropped up right through the middle of their once-natural habitat. Enter RJ, an opportunistic raccoon who explains that the world beyond the hedge is "the gateway to the good life" where peculiar creatures called humans live to eat, rather than eat to live. "For humans," RJ proclaims, "enough is never enough." Suspicious and even a little jealous of the charismatic smooth-talking RJ, the ever cautious Verne wants to keep his blended family safely on their side of the hedge. But, proving the adage that one man''s garbage is another man''s--or, rather, animal''s--treasure, the manipulative RJ has his own reasons for convincing the woodland band that there is little to fear and everything to gain from their over-indulgent new neighbors. Eventually, RJ and Verne form an unlikely friendship as they and their furry friends learn to coexist with--and even exploit--this strange new world called suburbia.