In Dark Accidents of Strange Identity, Bobby O'Malley and his family move out of the Fairview section of Camden to the suburbs where he makes friends with two brothers, Dante and Mario Furfante, the other new kids in town. When he begins the sixth grade, Bobby quickly learns the pecking order of suburban boys. Meanwhile, he struggles to come to terms with the murder of his Fairview friend Iggy Scanlon.

A few weeks after the move from Camden, Bobby's oldest sister Katelyn graduates college and joins the Peace Corps with her boyfriend Tug Peckinpah. After her stint in the Peace Corps ends, Katelyn returns to New Jersey. She and Tug are to be wed in Cape May. What should be a joyous occasion turns comic and then grotesque during the wedding reception.

Bobby eventually enters high school. He meets Jenna DeSantis, and they begin dating. Soon, Bobby's heart is pulled in opposite directions when the ever-popular Bianca Bruni ends up in his French class. Bobby learns firsthand what teen heartache means. But all is not lost. In the summer after sophomore year ends, Bobby embarks on what will become a life-long journey when he begins writing his very first novel.