Serling High School was just a passing misery to aspiring journalist Dennis Sommers. After all, at sixteen years old, he is merely the junior editor of the school's tabloid. When tasked with covering a story about a chess contest he meets the obscure Matthew Livingston who is only eliminating three opponents, in three games of chess, simultaneously. But when a fellow classmate/musician is ripped off to the tune of $650, Dennis vows to help recover the money and enlists the help of a somewhat reluctant Matthew Livingston.
Along with the ever confident Sandra Small, the three teens, fueled by Matthew's lateral thinking and masterful deduction, set out to catch a thief. Little do they know they are only scratching the surface of a criminal plot bent on destroying many teenage lives.