Cheo Hernandez is a thirteen year old who lives with his mother in a fifth story walkup on Valentine Avenue in The Bronx, New York. The biggest thing giving Cheo's life structure and meaning is baseball. Cheo is the number one pitcher and starting shortstop on his team, and the only person he trusts, other than his mother, is his catcher, City Island Pete. Life is challenging enough, but it quickly becomes even more hazardous when a man named Pelios shows up on Valentine Avenue. Straight out of prison, he was convicted of the murder of a mob boss in Queens. Rumor has it that the murdered man buried his fortune somewhere in Queens, but after Pelios went to prison, no one could find the money. Now all eyes are on Pelios, but when he disappears, everyone's attention turns to the only two people he was seen with more than once: Cheo Hernandez and City Island Pete.

Pirates and buried treasure are still real, even in The Bronx. Maybe especially in The Bronx. And they come with real and sometimes fatal consequences..