In September of 1914, while the Great War rages in Europe, fourteen-year-old Charlie Montgomery boards a train bound for Maine, leaving his abusive home life in Boston behind him. His destination: the Abbott School for Boys, a raucous boarding school where he can be himself, make friends, and build his true family. But what awaits Charlie may be more than he bargained for: the Williams twins, who are the worst hooligans in the history of the school.
Eighty-seven years later, his aging voice leads his great-great nephew Adam, a skateboarding punk who attends the local college, to the ruins of his former school. While Adam digs up history and starts to discover his uncle's secrets and untold stories, nerdy classmate Alex, who has a strong connection to the old school himself, joins him as their family histories intertwine and their friendship grows.