"There's a word missing." Terry pointed to the book. "The maid plucked the . . . ready for the spit." He flipped back a page. "It said she was sitting beside a black hen, right?" It was true. The words "black hen" were gone. All that remained was a larger-than-usual space. A gap. An emptiness. A hole . . . in the plot.

Neighbors and reluctant reading partners Basil and Terry are once again reading The Complete Fairytales of the Brothers Grimm. Last time, they found themselves plunged into the fairytale world, where everyone was losing the plot. This time, words—well, chickens—are disappearing!

Realizing their fairytale friends are in danger of being sucked into oblivion by plot holes, the boys don't hesitate before diving back into the Grimm world to warn them. It's up to Basil and Terry to find out what's going on and how to stop the plot holes from destroying everything . . . including their way home.