Ask anyone-twelve-year-old Mendel can't do anything right. When he tries to herd goats, they get out. When he tries to chop wood, he breaks the ax. It's embarrassing to be called 'Mendel the Mess Up,' but it's worse to be so clumsy that he can't even stand to read aloud without destroying the classroom. Nobody expects Mendel to keep out of trouble? least of all himself.

But when the Cossacks invade Mendel's remote Jewish village of Lintvint (famous for Lintvint kvatch, which is made from a very special ingredient), Mendel's not the only one in trouble. When he slips away from the mountain caves where his fellow villagers are hiding, out of certainty he'll find a way to make things worse if he's around them, he discovers an unexpected opportunity to save the day. Could Mendel's bad luck be the key to saving Lintvint? Or will his plan to drive the Cossacks off go as badly as everyone-including him-expects?