한편 숲에서 일어난 화재 사건을 조사하는 보안관들은 닉과 마르타의 학급 동료이자 방화 전적이 있는 문제아 '스모크'를 숲의 방화범으로 지목하고 그를 쫓는다. 닉은 스타치 선생님의 실종과 숲에서 일어난 화재, 그리고 보안관들에게 쫓기는 스모크가 모두 연관되어 있다는 사실을 눈치 채고 마르타와 함께 모든 사건들을 하나둘 파헤쳐 가기 시작하는데…

Bestselling author and columnist Carl Hiaasen returns with another hysterical mystery for kids set in Florida's Everglades.

Bunny Starch, the most feared biology teacher ever, is missing. She disappeared after a school field trip to Black Vine Swamp. And, to be honest, the kids in her class are relieved.

But when the principal tries to tell the students that Mrs. Starch has been called away on a "family emergency," Nick and Marta just don't buy it. No, they figure the class delinquent, Smoke, has something to do with her disappearance.

And he does! But not in the way they think. There's a lot more going on in Black Vine Swamp than any one player in this twisted tale can see. And Nick and Marta will have to reckon with an eccentric eco-avenger, a stuffed rat named Chelsea, a wannabe Texas oilman, a singing substitute teacher, and a ticked-off Florida panther before they really begin to see the big picture.

That's life in the swamp, kids.