What at first seems like a harmless Halloween scavenger hunt turns dangerous for eleven-year-old Alyssa J. Renae Harvey-more commonly known as AJ-and her twelve-year-old best friend, Khristian. When AJ snaps a photo in front of the home of the local neighborhood bullies, she doesn't know she's captured the face of a terrorist. That terrorist will do almost anything to get that camera and destroy the photo.
AJ and Khristian receive help from a most unexpected source-Max, the Harveys' collie-German shepherd mix. Max risks being shunned by all the other animals and breaks the Animal Code of Silence to warn the kids they are in danger. He informs them that the scruff y men, who are hiding out at the yellow house on the corner, are after them.
Max, AJ, and Khristian work to uncover what the men at the bullies' house are up to and try to stop them from hurting anyone. Max may be kind of lazy, and he may be afraid of thunder, but when it comes to his humans, Max risks everything to save them.