There are a thousand ways a prank can go wrong, but a vengeful magician and a demonic board game are the last things best friends Freddy and Tim expect when they try to make a fool of retired magician Ivan Prestoff. However, karma's got teeth, and wishes can be deadly, as Freddy discovers when the game grants him a cruel wish he never expected to come true. With his abusive father dead, his Mississippi hometown besieged by murderous crows, and the cops on his tail, Freddy hits the road for Memphis on a quest to find safety with his long-lost mother. Along the way, the desperate runaway meets an assortment of strangers. Most are dangerous. All fall victim to the sinister power Freddy unwittingly carries along with him.

Back in Jackson, the repentant magician sets out with Tim, Tim's skeptical mother, and clairvoyant Madame Wanda to find Freddy before the police do. Their goal: reassemble the missing pieces of the deadly board game to break its evil curse and send it back where it belongs-the depths of Hell. Will they reach Freddy before the curse claims more victims? Can the old magician make amends for the evil he has unleashed? Above all, will Freddy and Tim finally learn that kindness is more powerful than cruelty?