Gabriel Rivera and Caulder Jones live the California Coastal community of Santa Del Mar, which has a premier beach amusement park. As they begin their junior high years, they dream of forming a heavy metal band, but there is not a readily available spot to practice their music.

They eventually come up with the idea of playing in an old shed owned by Mrs. Bregazzi, who lives down the street. Caulder has an overbearing sister named Dahlia who gets involved, which greatly complicates life for everyone, but especially Gabe.

As they begin their enterprise, they encounter a mysterious boy named Crazy Charlie, who appears out of nowhere, and seems to leave the same way. There is more to Crazy Charlie than meets the eye, as Gabriel and Dahlia find out one night as they walk past an old pioneer cemetery.

Further challenging their plans is group of vicious teenage boys from the Riley family, who brutally harass another mysterious individual- an elderly African-American woman named Mavis Beaman who also lives near the old cemetery. Eventually, the three main characters are pulled into a criminal investigation that involves the Riley boys, Mavis Beaman and Crazy Charlie.

The story culminates when Raymond (the step dad of Gabriel) wants to let the boys practice down at the Santa Del Mar Beach and Boardwalk. A number of terrible secrets become exposed as the story unfolds, and eventually Gabriel is forced to intervene into a frightening ordeal that sets upon Mrs. Beaman and Charlie on top of the Boardwalk�s rollercoaster.

It is a fast paced read that includes a number of illustrations, and questions/prompts at the end of each chapter.

[The book was written primarily in the years, 2004- 2006, but has been updated in a number of significant ways into the product at present. It was originally copyrighted in 2006.]