In a desert, boys dig holes under the sun. One boy touches a rattlesnake, meeting his end. In the city, Stanley Yelnats The Fourth gets hit by fallen shoes. Suspected of stealing, Stanley faces police. Taken to court, he chooses Camp Green Lake instead of jail. He wonders about a family curse on the bus to the camp. Seeing a merchant's shadow, he arrives at a town with boys in prison uniforms. He meets the warden's aide, Mister Sir, who finds his name amusing. The camp has no fences or watchtowers due to the vast desert surroundings.