Twelve-year-old Jonathan Grisby has been sent to the Slabhenge Reformatory School for Troubled Boys, a former lunatic asylum which is currently run by a sadist who enjoys punishing the boys and setting them against each other; but when a lightning strike kills all the adults the boys find themselves suddenly free--and trapped on Scar Island which seems to be sinking into the ocean.

Jonathan Grisby is the newest arrival at the Slabhenge Reformatory School for Troubled Boys - an ancient, crumbling fortress of gray stone rising up from the ocean. It is dark, damp, and dismal and it is just the place Jonathan figures he deserves. Jonathan has done something terrible and he's willing to accept whatever punishment he has coming. Just as he's getting used to his new situation, however, a freak accident leaves the troubled boys of Slabhenge without any adult supervision. Suddenly, the kids are free with an entire island to themselves. But freedom brings unexpected danger and if Jonathan can't come to terms with the sins of his past and lead his new friends to safety then every boy on the island is doomed. This novel is a tale of misfits and outcasts at odds and in peril, and a redemption story that shines a light on darktruths to reveal that the strongest prisons of all are the ones we build for ourselves.