That idyllic existence changes irrevocably one day. A friend's freak surfing accident causes Shaun to reassess things, and as he ponders, he discovers a treasure. Buried in the familiar sand, almost as if it is waiting for Shaun, is a copy of Marcus Skinner's novel Straight Jacket. He reads it ... and re-reads it, obsessively. Epiphany strikes. His destiny is not on a surfboard. He has a new passion. Shaun Brumder wants to be a writer.

He swiftly composes a story and sends it to his new idol, Marcus Skinner, who teaches at Stanford University. Shaun hopes to study there under Skinner and, amazingly, he has a good shot. He trades surfing for classes. His extracurricular activities become more college-friendly. His grades improve. His high school transcript is impeccable and his SAT scores are terrific. The letter from Stanford finally comes. Stanford University has rejected Shaun Brumder.

Shaun is devastated. How could this happen? A little investigation leads to a big mistake, courtesy of his high school guidance counselor. Undeterred, Shaun will find a way to fix this, even though he only has 24 hours to do it. He simply has to get into Stanford, especially now that he sees the horror that is his life in Orange County: an over- emotional, co-dependent mother who is constantly unhinged by the thought of his leaving home, a distant, critical father who thinks his son's dream of becoming a writer is ridiculous, an impulsive brother, Lance, whose chemically enhanced and often unbalanced existence is just, well, infuriating. Is he even related to these people?