Tom Stevens was a super salesman. He and his friends delivered newspapers early every morning. Along their route, the boys often saw some pretty strange things. Then, one day, they actually became the story in the papers they delivered. Early in the morning, while it was still dark, the three boys stumbled across some suspicious activity. A tow truck begins to hook up an expensive car in someone's driveway along their paper route. Tom sees the name Jake embroidered on one guy's pocket. But when the tow truck driver sees the boys, he drives off in the truck, leaving the car behind.Tom reads in the paper the next morning about a string of car thefts around the area. He begins to see a connection between a local car repair shop and the thefts. The same Jake turns out to be a mechanic at a relative's garage, and he acts very secretive when the boys are around. The boys' adventures begin as they take matters into their own hands and investigate the car thefts. They befriend an elderly widow whose car was stolen, and encounter vicious guard dogs and the thieves themselves at the chop-shop, in an abandoned warehouse used by the crooks. But it's Tom who proves to be the one who carries this mystery to its dangerous conclusion. Will his investigating skills be enough to help him solve the crimes?