Logan is forced to leave Richmond when his dad gets a job as an art teacher in Bealesville, Virginia. Logan meets his talkative and often annoying neighbor Arthur. Arthur reveals the murderous past of the house Logan and his family moved into. The previous owner was found dead at the bottom of the stairs. Myrtle Donaldson had been falsely accused of embezzling from the Magic Forest. The authorities believed the murderer broke into the home looking for the money.
The boys begin to search for clues about the death of Mrs. Donaldson and end up putting themselves in danger. Logan is annoyed by Arthur at first, but later realizes their friendship is special. The boys find a note written to Mrs. Donaldson's daughter containing a clue was to the location of the money and the identity of her killer. The boys take the letter to Violet (the daughter) but she doesn't remember the location of the game she and her mother used to play. Violet is dealing with a violent ex-husband who takes the letter from her and threatens to take her children.
A detective posing as a reporter comes to town to investigate the embezzlement and murder in this small town. Nina realizes the boys are interfering with her investigation and tries unsuccessfully to keep the boys apart. The boys are determined to find the killer and to clear Mrs. Donaldson's name of any wrongdoing.
Aside from the murder mystery the book deals with an issue most teens could relate to. Logan is trying to find his way in the new town. Everyone considers Arthur weird and they encourage Logan to stay away. At one point Logan's mother forbids him to see Arthur and tries to force him to make friends with the popular boys in town. Logan realizes quickly that these boys are not his friends and that they hate "kids like him." He struggles to accept that he may not be an athlete or be the most popular but at least he does have one friend.
The night before Magic Forest is to be destroyed the boys make a plan to meet Violet after work and go to the amusement park to find the briefcase believed to contain the embezzled money that was hidden by Mrs. Donaldson. When the boys get to Violet's work all they find is her battered son. He tells the boys his father has Violet. The boys rush to the park and follow the clues to find the briefcase. The twist in the plot is that the embezzler is Mr. Disilvio (an upstanding citizen who donates money to the library and sponsors a soccer team). He was using Violet and her abusive ex-husband to find his money. As he is about to make a run with the money Nina shows up and reveals her true identity. The police swarm the park and capture Mr. Disilvio and the abusive Silas.
In the end Logan and Arthur are allowed to continue their friendship and even form a sort of truce with Violet's son, Danny (who used to beat up Arthur frequently). The boys are heroes in the town!
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