Stanley Yelnats comes from a family cursed with bad luck, so when he’s wrongly sent to Camp Green Lake Juvenile Detention Centre—a dry, dusty place with no lake—it’s just the latest in a long line of troubles.
Every day, Stanley and the other boys must dig a hole five feet wide and five feet deep, reporting anything they uncover. The strict warden says it’s to build character, but Stanley soon suspects there’s a secret hidden beneath the surface. Now, it’s up to him to uncover the truth buried in the desert.