When Stanley Yelnats (Shia Leboeuf) runs afoul of the law he ends up getting sentenced to spend time at Camp Greenlake. Stanley's father (Henry Winkler) and grandfather tell him it is because of the family curse brought upon them by their ancestor Elia Yelnats who came from Latvia years ago. As Stanley arrives at the camp he is greeted by Mr. Sir (Jon Voight), who is a little bit mean, and Dr. Pendanski (Tim Blake Nelson), who is the camp counselor. The boys at Camp Greenlake are required to dig one hole per day out in the desert of the area and report anything of interest to the warden (Sigourney Weaver). However when Stanley finds something he is told by X-ray, one of the other boys, that he is not allowed to take credit for it. Another boy, Zero, likes Stanley and asks him to help him learn to read. When Zero gets in trouble he decides to take off in to the desert, and eventually Stanley decides to go after him. What the boys find in the desert is the secret of the holes that they have been digging, but what could that be and why?