Marvin lives with his family under the kitchen sink in the Pompaday’s apartment. He is very much a beetle. James Pompaday lives with his mother, stepfather, and baby brother in New York City. He is very much an eleven year-old boy. After James gets a pen and ink set for his birthday, Marvin surprises him by creating an elaborate miniature drawing. James gets all the credit for the picture and before these unlikely friends know it they are caught up in a staged art heist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that could help recover a famous drawing by Albrecht Durer. But James can’t go through with the plan without Marvin’s help. And that’s where things get really complicated (and interesting!).