Every Saturday, while helping polish the lens of the lighthouse his grandfather tends, nine-year-old Will tells a tale he hopes will top Grandad's, but Grandad always wins until Dad reminds Will of a long-forgotten escapade with his brother.

When their mother starts dropping them off at the library several afternoons a week, nine-year-old William and his brother dread boredom and the overbearing librarian, but they are surprised at how things turn out.

Taking the Fowl jet without permission before it mysteriously explodes over Florida, the Fowl twins are placed under house arrest until Myles's questions about what really happened lead to an astonishing abduction.