Twelve-year-old Will Haddon and his twin friends, Dar and Juno, find a safe full of money and human bones in an old house that's sticking out of a rapidly receding lake amid the worst drought in history. Their mission to identify the body reveals secrets that will rewrite the history of their town and the story of their lives.
When Will was five, his dad, a young cop, went missing just days before Old Scarborough was drowned beneath a man-made lake for a hydroelectric scheme. Old Scarborough's residents were promised new houses, jobs, tourist dollars and a fresh start, but hardly any of it materialised. Neither did Will's dad. And he's not the only person to go missing from this bad-luck town.
Will, Dar and Juno are forced on a dangerous journey to discover the truth in a town that wants the past to stay buried.