This year, however, he did not meet the requirement because the High Council of the Animals has sent the cat Maurizio as a spy, which forces Beelzebub to be more cautious.

He is threatened with a "seizure" by Maledictus T. Maggot, an official of the devil, should he not fulfill his quota of evil deeds until midnight.

On New Year's Eve (called, not unimportantly for the plot, St. Sylvester's Day in Germany) he joins forces with the evil witch Tyrannia Vampirella, who has the same problem due to the raven Jacob who is spying on her for the High Council.

Together they try to brew the eponymous Notion Potion that will grant them all wishes, in order to fulfill their part of the contract before midnight.

The plot starts on New Year's Eve at 5 pm and the chapters each represent one hour until midnight to illustrate the increasing time pressure that the characters are under.

The punch is also strongly alcoholic, so by the time midnight comes along, they're both heavily inebriated, and decide to take their drunken ire out on their pets.