For the kids of Third Street School, there's only one thing better than recess, and that's summer vacation. It's been a long, hard year, and now, T.J. Detweiler is ready to play hard--he's got nothing to do except hang out with friends. T.J.'s plans go awry, however, when he finds out that all his pals are going away to summer camp without him--leaving him alone all summer. His boredom comes to an end when, riding his bike past school, T.J. notices an empty light emanating from the main building. Convinced that something weird is going on in the school, he tries to tell his parents and the local cops who dismiss him. A series of events leads him to uncover a horrible scheme that not only does away with summer vacation--but eliminates summer itself. Former principal Dr. Benedict, who once tried to outlaw recess, now plans to use a laser beam to create winter year-round. To foil this, T.J. calls on all his friends, who are then joined by the faculty in a schoolwide effort to save summer.