After accidentally killing a substitute teacher with an apple, twelve-year-old Seamus Hinkle is sent to Kilter Academy where, in order to excel as he always has, he must behave badly and pull pranks on his teachers, but along with new friends Lemon and Elinor he discovers that there is more to the Academy than meets the eye.

Seamus Hinkle has encountered a good deal of mystery and a lot of secrets since he first started at Kilter Academy. The longer he's there, the more unanswered questions he seems to have. At last it seems like he just might get some answers as he and his troublemaker friends prepare for a huge event: a Kilter Academy retreat in the Adirondack mountains with all the students and their parents.