School for S.P.I.E.S.

Juvenile delinquent and budding pyromaniac Max Segredo belongs in juvie hall. At least, that's what his most recent foster family would tell you. Instead, Max ends up on the doorstep of Merry Sunshine Orphanage-their very heavily guarded doorstep. As he begins to acclimate to his new home, Max learns a few things straightaway: first, cracking a Caesar Cipher isn't as hard as it seems; second, never sass your instructor if she's also holding throwing knives; and third, he may not be an orphan after all. Soon, Max and the rest of the students are sent on a mission to keep a dangerous weapon out of the hands of LOTUS, an international group bent on world domination. Of course, all Max cares about is finding out more about his father, the man he's now sure is still alive. As the stakes get higher, Max must make some difficult choices, including who to trust, and finally learns the true meaning of family.

Just when Max Segredo learned that his father is still alive, he also learned that Simon Segredo was working for LOTUS, an evil spy operation that wants to take down the Merry Sunshine Orphanage (a.k.a. the School for S.P.I.E.S.) and take over the world. Now Simon is on the run from LOTUS, and Max's surrogate family at the orphanage is being threatened from without and within. LOTUS is trying to drive the school out of business, while the Ministry of Health is investigating an anonymous complaint about the orphanage. To top it all off, the trainee spies are riddled by fear and squabbling among themselves. Into this chaos strolls a mysterious billionaire who hires S.P.I.E.S. to steal a powerful mind control device. The fee for the job will help save the school, but there's a catch: they've got just three days to pilfer the device from an ultra-secure facility before LOTUS steals it first. Can the S.P.I.E.S beat their rivals to the prize before the orphanage doors close for good? In this action-packed sequel to PLAYING WITH FIRE, it is impossible not to root for Max, a spy-in-training with mad skills, a spunky attitude, a way with the ladies (well, okay, maybe not so much), and a big heart.

The S.P.I.E.S. team has been scattered to the winds, its headquarters burned down, and Max Segredo is under lock and key at LOTUS HQ. What's even worse is that LOTUS's ruthless leader, Mrs. Frost, wants to adopt him. Max would go to the ends of the earth to be a normal kid with a normal family. But to achieve his deepest desire, he must first evade a hungry tiger, learn to fly a jetpack, reunite with his friends and father, and use all his mad spy skills to stop LOTUS from taking over the government with its mind-control device. Along the way, Max discovers that even a superspy is nothing without his team, and that the strongest families are founded on unconditional love.