A troubled teen. A school with secrets. A risky plan.
Fourteen-year-old Sam Snyder thinks he is going on a short vacation to visit his godfather. Instead, his adoptive mother drops him off at a Baptist reform school in the backwoods of Missouri. Surrounded by razor-wire fences, violent at-risk youth, and oppressive staff, he quickly realizes that he's not in California anymore.
Between fistfights, fire-and-brimstone sermons, and falling in love with a girl that he's never even spoken to, Sam struggles to keep his unbridled tongue and teenage lust in check in hopes of an early release.
But when Will--the new kid--is brutally punished, rumors of an escape plan begin to circulate. Sam must decide if he'll join the group of boys who want to take matters into their own hands.
