Sixteen-year-old, George Vardin, lives in Perfectville, MidAmerica in a crappy, ramshackle cottage. The electricity was shut off weeks ago, the roof is about to implode and the creaky front porch overlooks the ancestral mansion that his father lost because of his drug abuse. George is not sure which is more breathtaking; the view or the irony. George’s life is about to suck even more because school starts next week and he can’t scrape up enough money to pay his cell phone bill let alone the fee to play varsity football. Uncle Morris shows up from one of his weird international jaunts and offers a creative solution to keep George and his sister together under one roof. It’s a much larger, less leaky roof, with a breathtaking view of the crappy, ramshackle cottage. Crafty Morris reveals a secret tunnel that leads to the mansion and consequently some Vardin family secrets that will make junior year unforgettable. Reginald, the proper curator of the mansion-turned-museum, has his doubts about the new living arrangement but he also has good reason to befriend George. Morris enlists the aid of a waitress from the diner and a cranky old security guard to make up the proverbial “village” that’s needed to raise a child. Even a slightly dysfunctional, eccentric village can get the job done unless, of course, a greedy lawyer and his popular quarterback son hate your guts. It seems not all of the villagers are buying into the pesky proverb. It seems some villagers don’t want to raise a child. Some villagers just want to destroy George and shred what’s left of his family name. To stay in Vardin Village, George must follow clues left by his grandfather to unlock the past and preserve his future.

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