As the end of summer approaches, the Malloy girls decide they will really try to get along with the Hatford boys before moving back to Ohio, but after all the practical jokes and competitions of the previous year, the boys just do not trust the girls.

The Malloy girls and the Hatford boys continue to get in trouble as they try to outdo each other in bottle racing, spelling, and baseball.

Sarah, who is very good at solving problems, tries to help her friend Peter find a pet that he and his grandmother both like.

Thirteen-year-old Kenny secretly calls himself "Cricket Man" after a summer of rescuing creatures from his family's Bethesda, Maryland, pool, which gives him more self-confidence and an urge to be a hero, especially for his depressed sixteen-year-old neighbor, Jodie.