Billy Webb returns to recount strange happenings to journalist Trevor Trotman. Billy has been having trouble with certain items he acquires from a mystery man, including pancake mixture that gives his whole class hiccups, a flying bike, and a strange watch. Billy and Trevor soon discover the perpetrator is the same person, who appears every time Billy reads a certain book.
When reporter Trevor Trotman notices a commotion at the local school, he discovers that bully Ginger Gahagan is trapped on the roof with a bicycle, clinging on for dear life. Puzzled as to how he came to be up there, he notices Billy Webb among the pupils and decides to investigate.
An electrician's screwdriver found in Billy's bag is stolen by Ginger Gahagan, but in Billy's efforts to retrieve it, the instrument reveals unusual powers when it ends up in the fish tank. It comes in handy when the record player breaks when Mr Hardwood gets the school to practice Folk Dancing in preparation for Founder's Day in a bid to impress the school governors.
The pupils are called to cook the governors' meals for the upcoming Founder's Day, but Billy cannot cook. While going to buy dinner for his family at the Fish and Chip shop, he has an unusual experience with the man behind the counter, who offers him a strange batter mix for the perfect pancakes.
Billy's pancakes have hospitalised the school for the day, leaving only Billy in class. He explains about the mysterious man in the Fish and Chip shop, but when they go to find him, the shop denies ever hiring him. Things get stranger when Billy receives a letter through post, claiming that he has won a prize at the Circus shop, although he hasn't even entered.
Mr Webb has inadvertently destroyed the magical watch while trying to fix it, but Trevor is uninterested. What he wants to know from Billy is how Ginger Gahagan ended up on the roof.
When Billy shows Trevor the mysterious book he found in his bag, Trevor realises what's going on: in the book is a character with a magical ring that can change them into anybody, and he believes that the character has escaped from the book and is causing all the mischief.
