In the center of the story is a 17-year-old boy, Charlie Reed, a diligent student who plays baseball and football well. When Charlie was 10 years old, his mother died in a car accident, causing his father to drink heavily. The hero had to start taking care of both himself and his father. Charlie meets the mysterious old man Howard Bowditch and his dog named Radar. Howard lives in an isolated large house on top of a hill. Charlie begins to help the old man manage household chores, and along the way makes friends with Radar. After some time, Howard dies, but before his death he manages to leave Charlie a tape with a mysterious message. So he revealed to the hero the secret of a locked shed in the backyard of the house, from which strange sounds emanate. It turns out that in the barn there is a portal to another world. Charlie and Radar go into the portal in search and end up involved in a large-scale war of good and evil, on the outcome of which the fate of entire worlds depends.