The authors develop the setting by bringing readers right into the sights and sounds of New York. The novel starts in "The Pits," Ace's New York apartment, with a scene that any teen can relate to. Flo, Ace's mom, yells for him to wake up. Ace, whining that it is summer vacation, pulls the covers over his head. He reminisces about his stardom the previous school year as the lead actor in Bound and Gagged. At first a big hit, the movie fizzled quickly, leaving Ace and his friends, the Purple Falcon gang, with credit-card bills to pay. Now Flo expects Ace to get a job over the summer.

Desperate for money and not wanting to work at Gristede's, the grocery store where his mom works, Ace accepts an acting job from his shady agent, Jerry Cone. Cone tells Ace that the job will be at the Wartzburg...