For his tenth birthday, his big sister takes Ricki to the circus. After the show, they start home, but Ricki realizes he's forgotten his satchel. He goes back for it but it's not under the seat where he left it. He finds an aerialist practicing on the trapeze and asks for help. She says she saw the clown taking the satchel but doesn't know where. With his big sister still waiting out front, Ricki sets off to find the thief.
He follows clues which lead him from one performer to the next, from the aerialist to an acrobat, from a musician to a rigger. They're busy training, and don't want to talk to him. But he perseveres, and the more he discovers, the more certain he is that he'll never see his satchel again. Eventually he finds the ringmaster, who tells Ricki a story that dashes his hopes completely. Until Ricki discovers the clown's missing nose...