When Cody Griffin turns 13, things are going good. He is a star swimmer, he is getting interest from a girl named Sam, and he has a supportive family. Then he discovers that he may be turning into a fish. He also discovers who his true friends are.

In a small Massachusetts town, two bumbling criminals mistakenly kidnap a maid, thinking her to be the wife of a prominent businessman. D.C., short for Darn Cat, is an alley cat who, while looking for his nightly snack, stumbles upon the kidnap victim, bound and gagged in a shed. The kidnap victim scratches a plea for help on the back of her wristwatch and puts it around the cat's neck. Patti finds the watch and links it to the missing maid. Playing amateur detective, she enlists the aid of an FBI agent, Zeke, who has been assigned to the case. Patti and Zeke follow D.C. through tight openings to track down the captive.

Baby Bink couldn't ask for more; he has adoring (if somewhat sickly-sweet) parents, he lives in a huge mansion, and he's just about to appear in the social pages of the paper. Unfortunately, not everyone in the world is as nice as Baby Bink's parents; especially the three enterprising kidnapers who pretend to be photographers from the newspaper. Successfully kidnaping Baby Bink, they have a harder time keeping hold of the rascal, who not only keeps one step ahead of them, but seems to be more than a little bit smarter than the three bumbling criminals.