Thirteen-year-old Mei is experiencing the awkwardness of being a teenager with a twist – when she gets too excited, she transforms into a giant red panda. That night, Mei has a vivid nightmare involving red pandas. When she wakes up the next morning, she finds that she has transformed into a large red panda. She hides from her parents and discovers that she transforms only when she is in a state of high emotion. When Mei reverts to human form, her hair remains red, and so she goes to school in a touque.