Summer camp is a rite of passage for many, and so much more for Tom Steelman, an earnest middle-class son of the South who unexpectedly lands a counselor position at an exclusive camp that plays host to the children of Northeastern privilege. Maine's coastal waters aren't the only thing that Tom finds chilly when he arrives for duty at Camp Waserwarr. Right from the start he's an outsider, forced to endure one slight after another-some innocent and some intentional. Then, as he struggles to maintain a foothold in his new surroundings, ominous reports begin arriving from back home. With his self-reliance tested as never before, will Tom survive the clash of cultures into which he's been plunged, or will proving himself worthy in the eyes of others threaten the humble principles he's always lived by.