The Khatchadorian family discovers they have inherited a million dollars, but to get it, they must stay in a ramshackle house in Beverly Hills and Rafe has to attend a snooty new middle school.

When Rafe is invited to attend an all-expenses paid art field trip in California, he jumps at the opportunity, but things go sideways, as they always do for Rafe, after he realizes he'll be participating in a "Cultural Campout" in the desert and a seriesof unfortunate events follow, including an encounter with a cranky crocodile, a claustrophobic trip into an ancient cave, and a plot to smuggle a legendary missing diamond.