Eleven-year-old Hayden Jones always wanted a pet. Too bad Mom doesn't think he's responsible enough. Sure, he'd messed up that one time he brought home a stray cat. He'd given it milk, and how did it repay him? By shredding Mom's curtains. But he's eleven now and would do anything to change Mom's mind.

While doing the responsible thing of returning the neighbor's pet, Hayden notices a weird glow coming from their barn. Sneaking inside, he finds a mysterious contraption holding a strange spotted egg. The machine begins to bubble and gulp, and then crackling electricity fills the air. Unsure of what else to do he snatches the egg before everything explodes.

Not ready to abandon the twitching egg, Hayden sneaks home armed with the perfect plan: hatch the egg, raise his new pet in secret, and prove to Mom he can do this.

But when it hatches a dragon, his itchy adventure begins. Hayden had never seen a dragon before. Where did it come from? How did this one end up in that crazy machine? And why was Hayden suddenly covered in big purple bumps?