The novel is about Stanley Yelnats, a 15-year old boy who is sent by mistake to a camp for young criminals. At the camp, boys must dig 5 foot wide and 5 foot deep holes in a dried up lake in the middle of a hot desert. Stanley starts to have suspicions that the camp's warden is looking for something. This story is told alongside two others stories: one about Stanley's great-great-grandfather, and another about the area where the camp is located. These side stories include links to the present including some of the characters ancestors.