A long time ago a man named, Elya Yelnats, cursed his family for failing to carry a woman by the name of Madame Zeroni up  a mountain....

Now in real-time, his family continues to feel the effects of the curse. Stanley Yelnats was arrested for stealing shoes from a charity event. However, he did not steal them, he found them on the street.

He was sent to Camp Geen Lake, which was ironic because there was no lake at all. It was a deserted place where juvenile boys were sent when they broke the law.

At camp, the punishment for these boy's wrongdoing was to dig holes five feet deep and 5 feet wide. The counselors said, "It builds character." 

He soon finds out that the counselors are looking for treasure that belonged to Stanely's great grandfather...