Plumnose was the lone ferret in Burrad's gang and a close friend of Halfchop, being the only beast who could understand the mentally disturbed rat. He was dogged and mostly obedient, but not very bright, and frustrated the clever stoat Flinky with his stupidity foiling his plans.
He was named for his abnormally large nose, which gave him a very nasally voice but made him an excellent tracker because of his keen sense of smell. However, his large nose proved to be a disadvantage when Burrad's successor Badredd attempted to take over Redwall Abbey.
The Abbey residents devised "bombs" out of scraps of cloth and hotroot pepper to drive the enemy away, and Plumnose's large and sensitive nose was burned so painfully he sat out in a rainstorm to flush it out.
Plumnose fled out of Mossflower Woods with the remainder of the gang during Raga Bol's attack on Redwall .