The first book in a thrilling new series from bestselling (non-criminal) mastermind Gordon Korman.

Eli Frieden lives in the most perfect town in the world: Serenity, New Mexico. In this idyllic place, every lawn is perfectly manicured and everyone has a pool and a treehouse. Honesty and integrity are valued above all else in Serenity. The thirty kids who live there never lie-they know it's a short leap from lying to the awful problems of other less fortunate places.

Eli has never left Serenity. Why would he want to? Then one day he cycles to the city limits, and something so crazy and unexpected happens, it changes everything. Eli convinces his friends to help him investigate further, and soon it becomes clear that nothing is as it seems in Serenity. The clues mount to reveal a shocking secret that connects their ideal, crime-free community to some of the greatest criminal masterminds ever known. The kids realize they can trust no one-least of all their own parents. So they hatch a plan for what could be the greatest breakout in history. But will they survive? And if they do, where will they go from there?