The six horrible Herdmans, the worst kids in the history of the world, cause mayhem throughout the school year.

With her first step off the airplane and into bright tropical sunlight, Jess begins an adventure. She and her parents are spending five months at an archeological dig of ancient Maya ruins in the Central American country of Belize. When Jess meets a new friend and goes on an eco-adventure, she makes some real discoveries--about the dangers in the Belizean jungle, about the people who lived there long ago, and about herself.