It's hard enough fending off ogres when you're a powerful wizard or a knight with an enchanted sword. Just try doing it with nothing but the wits you were born with. That's exactly what happened to Cassie Malloy when ugly, smelly, hairy creatures began appearing in her town. Now Cassie has to save herself from these six-foot beasts as they chase her and her siblings through the lonely streets of Paterson, New Jersey.
But Cassie doesn't only have to save herself. The ogre band has come with a plan to turn Ike, her brother, into a fish, dooming him to spend forever swimming in the pond. They've even kidnapped Cassie's best friend, Deirdre, though no one really knows why.
Finally, Cassie learns that the ogres are here because of the Powermongers Company and their excessive pollution. It's going to take everything the Malloy kids have got to win this battle. One thing's for sure they had better be clever, or they are all goners.