Eleven-year-old Army BRAT Max Brinkley is less than thrilled about his family's latest military move-a move that will once again take him away from the people and places he has grown to love. Max feels like his world is already complicated enough as he deals with his father's deployments and surviving middle school. Things soon get interesting in the Brinkleys' new small South Carolina town when a cunning ding-dong ditcher targets their quiet neighborhood. When his friend Finn Harper is named the culprit, it is up to Max and his genius seven-year-old brother Knox to figure out who's really behind the pranks. And to do it, they'll need the help of the cranky and mysterious war widow next door, Mrs. Needlemeyer. Can Max and his team solve the case to clear his friend's name?