On the verge of his eleventh birthday, Brendan, together with his younger brother Ryan and friend Gabrielle, discovers a mysterious golden object deep in the Maine woods. To their amazement, a friendly but desperate ghostly voice from within entreats them to help save the world from McGrab, a horrifying creature who wishes to conquer the world. Before they know it, the three children cut through the earth's crust in a magical sphere as they hunt for McGrab. Confident of ultimate victory, he toys with his adversaries, leaving tantalizing clues about things they must seek across the globe in order to find him. Traveling from continent to continent amid hair-raising adventures and thrilling escapes, the children solve the clues one by one. In the process, they discover surreal (yet real) places and things along the way: a pink lake, a building seemingly made of giant eggs, islands that arise in a single day, antelope that walk on water, hotels made of ice, cats that swim, and kites that battle. Armed with the knowledge about the world that they've gained in their wild chase, the children finally return home to face McGrab in a decisive battle in which the fate of their families-and the world-hangs in the balance.