Rusty was an ordinary house cat who dreamed of living in the wild, catching his own prey and sleeping under the stars. One night, he decided to explore the nearby forest but was warned by his friend, Smudge, that the forest was filled with dangerous, wild cats. Rusty continued into the forest anyway and meets with the leader of ThunderClan, Bluestar leader of one of the four wild cat clans living in the nearby forest. He decides to accept her invitation to join her clan and becomes Firepaw, an apprentice of ThunderClan. The other Clan cats are initially reluctant to accept Firepaw because of his kittypet origins, but he earns a place in the Clan as he is a natural fighter, hunter,and a truly loyal member of ThunderClan.