Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys' detention center, Camp Green Lake, where the warden makes the boys "build character" by spending all day, every day, digging holes: five feet wide and five feet deep. 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. Stanley tries to dig up the truth in this inventive and darkly humorous tale of crime and punishment—and redemption.
少年叶那茨·斯坦利被人误指偷窃了一双球鞋,被迫进入绿营湖基地接受十八个月的惩罚,在那里遇到了许多和他一样在接受惩罚的少年,而挖洞就是他们每天的任务。在绿营湖的日子里,他结交到一个好朋友,尽管他们的祖先之间曾有过仇恨,两人还是同甘共苦,一起逃离,一起流浪。历经艰难后的他们究竟会受到怎样的对待呢?而深藏在洞中的巨大秘密又是什么呢?