When Stanley Yelnats III shows up at Camp Green Lake, wrongly charged with stealing a very expensive pair of shoes, he doesn't exactly fit in. All the other boys seem very tough, they already know the ropes, and they're in a mindset that when you're fighting for your life, you don't stop and help the newbie unless there's something in it for you. But then there's sweet, unassuming little Zero (alias Hector Zeroni), who everyone just seems to underestimate. He and Stanley develop a partnership, where Zero helps Stanley dig holes (something he's surprisingly adept at) in exchange for Stanley teaching him to read. While it starts off as nothing more than a bit of quid pro quo, they end up becoming good friends. And Stanley proves his loyalty by following Zero through the desert when he had to run away after hitting one of the prison guards in the face with a shovel...you know, as you do.