Curly Mulligan is the pupil who brings the headmaster a full fry-up every morning. When the head finds a hair in his breakfast, all hell breaks loose.

Set in 1960s Dublin, a fatherless eight-year-old boy who feels alienated by his family, escapes his reality by deciding he's been sent from Mercury to study life on Earth. His fantasies mirror the life of his hero, Flash Gordon, from the serial he watches each week at the local cinema. His escapades result in dilemmas that drive his mother to such distraction that she turns to the boy's strange uncle for help.

Boy turns seven, and is flown to Magic Castle by Harry Houdini to battle an evil magician and his young protégé.