Stanley Yelnats is under a curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has followed generations of Yelnatses. Now, Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the boys build character by spending all day digging holes exactly five feet wide and five feet deep. There is no lake at Camp Green Lake, but there are an awful lot of holes.

It doesn't take long for Stanley to realize there's more than character improvement going on at Camp Green Lake. The boys are digging holes because the warden is looking for something. But what could be buried under a dried-up lake? Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime, punishment, and redemption.