For some reason, twelve-year-old Mateo Morales was born with magic. Small magic. It’s so small that his friends don’t believe it’s real. They think he’s fooling them with sleight of hand. Mateo likes being unique, but what’s the use if his powers are useless? He feels destined for greatness, yet his life disagrees. When Mateo moves to seemingly perfect Wheaton, Illinois, he meets fellow seventh-grader Sienna Ketema. For some reason, Sienna was “born with science.” She observes closely, seeing what others do not. Mateo and Sienna team up. He does magic, she boosts it with science. A partnership is formed.
 
When a mysterious helper leaves a trail of puzzling clues, Mateo and Sienna follow its treacherous paths until they uncover evidence that the local rumors are true: there really is a massive alien spaceship that long ago crashed and buried itself beneath Wheaton. Worse, the spaceship appears ready to power back on. If it lifts off and flies away, the city and every one of its 53,389 residents will be annihilated. So, Mateo and Sienna must embark on a magical mission to save Wheaton from doom — and from those who profit by keeping buried secrets buried.