Created by Cranston and Mottola based on the book by Conn and Hal Iggulden, the series follows the McKenna family as they cope with the untimely passing of Patrick (Chris Diamantopoulos), their patriarch and a whimsical inventor who touched the lives of everyone who knew him. His death has left the family reeling, but hope appears in the form of a book called The Dangerous Book for Boys that Patrick created as a handbook to help his three sons.