Tim Witkinson is convinced that his family is the most boring family in the world. His father has the dullest job in the world, working for the Food Standards Agency, and in his spare time he plays with a model train set. His mother works as a librarian and when she’s not at the library, likes to glue shells to things. Tim himself is widely regarded as a Waste of Space.

Tim’s only relief from his dull existence is his daydream life when he becomes The Thing from Thingummy, or Captain Goodygoody or secret agent James Blond. But when the Phantom Scribbler starts leaving messages about chickens all over the school, things start to become a lot more interesting and both Tim and his father prove to be far from boring…..