A curious boy - not good at sports or socializing because he spends his time building electronic gadgets and things that burn or explode - and his more normal brother grow up in the Alabama town of Frog Level and explore the mysterious Sipsey Swamp in the 1950s. The swamp seems ordinary to the uninitiated, but the boys find strange religious customs, a cowboy movie star, legendary treasure, a fiery demon, mishaps at an oil drilling rig, and a secret military assignment left over from World War II. The local reporter probes the boy's secrets and recruits him to give an obnoxious grownup his comeupance. Then, the boy's swamp adventures abruptly, unexpectedly end; and he receives a dramatic send-off to reach for his childhood dreams. Meant to be read to young children with explanations added by the reader, to send older children scurrying for the dictionary and encyclopedia, and to enchant adults with its innocent wit.