Thirteen-year-old Chase Tinker can't understand why he has the power to move things with his mind. Besides that, his dad, Benjamin, has been missing for over a year, causing his mom to be too upset to pay much attention to her sons, so now he's been busted for shoplifting. As if this isn't enough to worry about, his younger brother Andy suddenly has a weird ability, too. Chase wonders, Can things get any crazier?

Then, a grandfather they thought to be long dead arrives at their door. He wants Chase and Andy to come visit him so they can learn about their supernatural heritage, and why they have these strange magical powers.

The boys soon find out that Grandfather, along with their cousin Janie, lives on a remote island in the middle of Puget Sound in a five hundred and sixty year old house where fantastic magic can be found in practically every room, stairway, and hall. Chase can't believe their dad has been keeping so much from them.

It's an even bigger shock when Chase learns all their magic is controlled by a powerful four thousand year old Relic in the attic, and if anything happens to this Relic, every bit of Tinker magic will be lost forever. He's even more disturbed when he learns his family has a dark and powerful enemy determined to steal all their magic, their house, and their Relic.

Now Chase must find a way to stop these wicked beings, while at the same time figuring out what has happened to his dad, unraveling even more Tinker lies and secrets, and not letting on he has a crush on the housekeeper's daughter.