At stake–the deed to The Clifton Heights Home for Children. Emmaline Gremlin wants to close the orphanage. Her runaway husband wants to turn the deed over to Mr. Bloober, Superintendent of the Home, to ensure its continuation.

Mickey Allston, age nine, and his friend Warren Towers, who is visiting from the Clifton Heights Home for Children, join forces with Mr. Camden Chatsworth, owner of a marvelous collection of old toys, and the runaway Mr. Gremlin, newly arrived in Pennypack and living under the name of Montague Dobson.

As the Monday deadline looms, Emmaline steals the deed, but as the clock ticks down, Warren hatches a clever plot which Camden Chatsworth, Montague Dobson, and the two boys attempt to pull off in the library of the Home as the deadline looms. Will they succeed? Can they reclaim the deed in time to save the Home?