Stanley Yelnats IV (Shia LaBoeuf ) begins to live out an old family curse when an expensive pair of sneakers falls around his neck, just as the cops roll around the corner in search of a suspect. Stanley is quickly arrested , found guilty of theft, and sent up to a work camp for young offenders.

The camp turns out to be the trans-generational project of a wicked family, bent on finding stolen treasure in a dry lake bed, using the slave labor of kids who’ve run afoul of the law.