- Mickey Cray has a head concussion from getting hit on top of his noggin with a frozen iguana (yes, it was dead when it fell off the tree), so he gets headaches and has blurry vision.
- For a while now, Wahoo Cray has been passing off animal wrangling jobs that are offered to Mickey because his dad is feeling awful.
- His mother, Susan, gives Wahoo some bad news: She has to take a job in China teaching Mandarin Chinese for two months because they need the money.
- Although it is necessary, Wahoo and Mickey don't want her to go.
- But the family is broke, so Susan leaves.
- After escaping his cage, a howler monkey named Jocko bites Wahoo while he tries to lure him back into his cage.
- The phone rings and Wahoo talks to someone.
- When Mickey asks him who was on the phone, Wahoo lets him know he accepted a job on their behalf, even though Mickey can't work and Wahoo is still in high school, because he was offered one thousand dollars a day.
- Woah—that's a lot of money.