Twelve-year-old Tom is rescued by writer Cricket Crane after a foggy marine disaster in which Tom's mother presumably drowned, leaving his father, Kinsella, to face murder charges. Cricket hops around after gossip about Tom's socially prominent grandparents and Kinsella's shady doings, and bungles into an FBI drug investigation. Blackmail, three murders (one a dog's) and a surprise pup-etrater--all deadened by the chirrupy patter.