It's been the perfect summer for 12 year old Josh Peters, riding the streets of town on his skateboard and hanging with his best friend, Marley the mischievous dog. But the threat of losing his home looms large as a giant shopping center has moved into town, crushing the local economy. Josh's father has concluded the family will have to move in with mom...but Marley can't come. Determined to save his family, home, and Marley, but having no clue how to do it, Josh's perfect summer will seemingly end in disaster, until one day... Marley digs up a golden medallion with directions on it to a fabled local treasure of gold left behind by the Conquistadors. Together with Ana, the cute and spunky new girl in town, they set out into the deep woods to find the riches. But also on the treasure hunt are Wade and Scarecrow, two no-account hoodlums already wanted by the local authorities. They will stop at nothing to claim the loot for themselves and then split before the cops can catch onto them. But as nefarious as Wade and Scarecrow prove to be, they're no match for the cunning defensive tactics of Josh, Ana and Marley, who continually, and comically, thwart the devious ne'er dowels' attempts to snatch the bountiful fortune. Aside from combating the dastardly criminal duo, Josh and company have to contend with an array of fantastical booby traps, a twisting, seemingly never ending forest, and a cavern rife with perilous calamities. Along the way Josh learns that getting rich doesn't solve everything and that true friendship and understanding peoples' differences is a more direct path to harmony and happiness.
