After reluctantly agreeing to babysit her friend Karen's two-year-old son, Meg Langslow is worried when Karen never returns to pick up her child, and suspecting foul play decides to retrace her friend's steps from the previous day.

Meg Langslow is pulled into another mystery when she discovers a group of penguins and a dead body hiding in her father's basement, and although Meg's dad can explain why the penguins are there, the dead man is another story, and Meg sets out to clear her father's name and discover the victim's identity.