Claudia Kincaid feels underappreciated at home and decides to run away to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Claudia enlists her younger brother Jamie, a frugal card player with saved money, to join her runaway plan.

Claudia and Jamie hide in the back of their school bus and slip away on the morning of their planned escape.

Claudia and Jamie board a train to New York City, and Claudia mails a letter home asking her parents not to worry.

Claudia and Jamie enter the Metropolitan Museum of Art and choose a historical Renaissance bed to sleep in that night.

Claudia and Jamie hide in bathroom stalls until the museum closes and spend their first night sleeping in the antique bed.

Claudia and Jamie wait in a long line to view a newly arrived statue called Angel in the Italian Renaissance gallery.

Claudia and Jamie steal a newspaper and learn that Angel was sold to the museum by wealthy art collector Mrs. Frankweiler.

Claudia and Jamie spend a day visiting public libraries to research Michelangelo, hoping to learn whether Angel is his work.

Claudia and Jamie discover Michelangelo's three-ring signature mark pressed into the velvet platform where Angel previously stood.

The museum sends a letter explaining that experts already know about the mark and it does not conclusively prove Michelangelo created Angel.

Claudia impulsively changes their train destination to Mrs. Frankweiler's Connecticut home rather than returning to Greenwich.

Claudia and Jamie arrive at Mrs. Frankweiler's large estate, and she immediately recognizes them as missing children.

Searching Mrs. Frankweiler's filing cabinets, Claudia and Jamie discover Michelangelo's original sketch of Angel.

Mrs. Frankweiler agrees to leave Michelangelo's sketch to Claudia and Jamie in her will in exchange for their secrecy.

Twelve-year-old Claudia Kincaid runs away from her Greenwich home and hides inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art with her younger brother Jamie. During their stay, they become captivated by a newly acquired statue called Angel, which may have been sculpted by Michelangelo. Claudia and Jamie investigate the mystery, discovering a mark that could be Michelangelo's signature, and send an anonymous tip to the museum. After the museum dismisses their discovery, they travel to the Connecticut home of Mrs. Frankweiler, the woman who originally sold Angel. There they find proof of Michelangelo's authorship hidden inside Mrs. Frankweiler's private filing cabinets. Mrs. Frankweiler rewards their persistence by agreeing to leave them Michelangelo's sketch in her will.

The headline story of two runaways solving an art mystery.

Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler writes a letter to her lawyer Saxonberg announcing she plans to change her will.

Claudia saves her weekly allowance and retrieves a spare train pass from her parents' trash to fund the escape.

Jamie reads Claudia's detailed written escape instructions and partially attempts to eat the paper as she suggested.

Jamie refuses to pay for a bus or taxi, so the two children walk all 40 blocks from Grand Central to the museum.

Claudia and Jamie re-enter the museum through a back door, telling the guard they are meeting their mother inside.

A museum janitor briefly spots Jamie while the children hide and wait for the morning staff to settle in.

Claudia and Jamie blend into a visiting school group to hear a guided lecture about Egyptian mummies.

Claudia and Jamie visit a laundromat to do their laundry, but their clothes turn gray after mixing light and dark items.

Jamie overhears two museum staff members discussing plans to relocate Angel while hiding in a bathroom stall.

Claudia and Jamie bathe in the museum's fountain decorated with sculptures and collect coins thrown in by visitors.

Claudia types an anonymous letter to the museum describing their discovery, using a typewriter on display in a store.

Jamie poses as a visiting third-grade student from Greenwich to hand-deliver the anonymous letter to the museum office.

Claudia and Jamie take a guided tour of the United Nations headquarters to pass time while waiting for the museum's reply.

Parks the butler tricks Claudia into accepting macaroni and cheese by presenting the dish under a fancy French name.

Mrs. Frankweiler's chauffeur Sheldon drives Claudia and Jamie home, where their parents and Saxonberg are waiting to greet them.

The story is framed by the mysterious Mrs. Frankweiler writing a letter to her lawyer, setting up the adventure that follows. Claudia and Jamie carefully prepare their escape and navigate the practical challenges of secretly living inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. From blending into school groups to doing laundry and gathering coins from a fountain, the children adapt creatively to their unusual circumstances. They work covertly to share their discovery about Angel, using a store typewriter and a clever ruse to deliver their tip to museum staff. After the museum dismisses their findings, they exhaust their money traveling to Mrs. Frankweiler's home, where small moments of warmth and humor mark their time before she sends them safely back to their waiting family.

The behind-the-scenes details of life hidden inside the museum.

Jamie reveals he has saved a significant sum of money by winning the card game War against his friend Bruce.

Claudia appoints Jamie treasurer of their funds after he complains about the Metropolitan Museum of Art as their destination.

Claudia and Jamie each admit the other is 'not too bad' after selecting the antique bed, beginning to feel like a team.

Claudia loses confidence in ever mastering Michelangelo's full history at the library while Jamie grows increasingly more confident.

While hiding in a bathroom stall, Jamie tries to send Claudia a telepathic warning not to leave her hiding spot.

Claudia wishes she could hug the Angel statue after visiting it in its new location, but Jamie dismisses the impulse.

Instead of attending church as usual, Claudia and Jamie say a prayer in a museum room featuring a stained-glass window.

Claudia and Jamie find a book in the museum shop confirming that the three-ring mark is Michelangelo's signature.

Claudia declares she must return home changed and that uncovering the truth about Angel has become her personal mission.

Jamie suggests they return home after the museum dismisses their tip, but Claudia refuses to leave without finding answers.

Jamie suggests that Claudia stop correcting his grammar, and she humbly accepts the criticism as a step toward change.

Mrs. Frankweiler promises not to call the police as long as Claudia and Jamie do not bore her.

Jamie accidentally reveals to Mrs. Frankweiler during lunch that he and Claudia spent the week living inside the museum.

Mrs. Frankweiler explains that she values keeping Angel's secret more than the money she could have earned by revealing Michelangelo's authorship.

Mrs. Frankweiler concludes her letter to Saxonberg by revealing to readers that he is actually Claudia and Jamie's grandfather.

From the beginning, the story centers on Claudia's desire to return home as a changed person, and each turning point pushes her closer to that goal. Working alongside Jamie in the museum, she discovers both the depths of her ambition and the limits of her confidence, particularly as their research into Michelangelo grows more challenging. Emotional moments — from longing to embrace a statue to praying alone before a stained-glass window — reveal how deeply Claudia connects art to her own identity. When the museum dismisses their discovery, Claudia reaches her lowest point but finds renewed resolve, and even accepts Jamie's honest criticism about her controlling habits. At Mrs. Frankweiler's home, a series of revelations resolves both the mystery of Angel and the deeper mystery of who the children are becoming. The story closes with a final twist that their family lawyer is secretly their grandfather, completing Mrs. Frankweiler's carefully guarded web of secrets.