Ravi has just moved to the United States from India and has always been at the top of his class; Joe has lived in the same town his whole life and has learning problems--but when their lives intersect in the first week of fifth grade they are brought together by a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and the need to take control of their lives.

With a key to the Oakes School in his possession Benjamin, his friend Jill, and a new friend continue to seek ways to protect the school and their town but Lyman, the janitor and a spy, has new tricks up his sleeve.