Something is frightening the people of Crong -- something with long, sharp teeth, seven eyes, and an appetite for goats. The monster's name is the Voolith, and it won't stop until it has gobbled up everything in its path! When news reaches Edwinland, King Edwin decides he must cross the wilderness and defeat the Voolith in single combat. Even if he doesn't quite know what "single combat" means.

His younger brother Fudge's obsession with money and an unexpected encounter with twin cousins Flora and Fauna and a weird younger cousin also named Farley Drexel Hatcher, just like Fudge, provide many embarrassing moments for twelve-year-old Peter.