In Texas, the Yelnats family are cursed with bad luck that prevents the father inventing a shoe spray to completely eliminate foot odour. They blame this on their ancestor Elya's failure to keep a promise to fortune teller Madame Zeroni years ago in Latvia. One day, the son Stanley Yelnats IV is wrongfully convicted of stealing a pair of sneakers that were donated to charity by baseball player Clyde "Sweet Feet" Livingston, and is sentenced to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp, in lieu of jail time.