The book takes place in the community of Lower Rockville, a fictional place. There are three main characters. Cooper, Matt and Sean, who are all 15 years of age; they have been best friends since kindergarten. Every summer they make a goal, one past goal was to go to a golf course every day until they collected one thousand golf balls. This year’s goal: to see a real live naked girl. The three boys aren’t very popular and quite awkward. Matt also has a brother named Peter who is more popular than Matt, and enjoys building model airplanes. The whole story is told from Matt’s point of view.
The story starts off in Mrs. Luntz swim team meet that Cooper, Sean and Matt join every year, even though they are lousy swimmers. The same people join every year, but this year Mrs. Luntz announces a new addition to their team. Her name is Kelly. As soon as Matt sees her, he instantly falls in love. Matt then volunteers to swim the 100 yard butterfly race in the upcoming even in an attempt to get noticed and impress Kelly. Cooper and Sean think Matt is crazy for volunteering for the most difficult race. Matt decides to train at the local community centre swimming pool, but quickly realizes he can barely do one lap. Kelly comes into the pool area, and Matt decides he needs to find a different pool to train at because he doesn’t want to embarrass himself in front of her.
Later on, Sean calls Cooper and Matt over to his house. He says he has a perfect idea for them to achieve their summer time goal. His plan is to dress up as girls with his sister’s clothing and hide