Have you ever wanted to quit school? Rand does ... Rand Oldfield is sick of school - sick of his control freak teacher, Ms. Kern, sick of memorizing pointless facts, and sick of sitting in a desk all day. Rand just started the eighth grade, but he doesn't think he'll even make it through the first month. In fact, he doesn't. Inspired by a book he read over the summer, A Clockwork Orange, Rand decides to write his summer reading essay on it. The only problem? It's not on the approved reading list. He turns it in anyways, receives on F, and decides to pull the ultimate prank in revenge - a school-wide lockout. After this prank, Rand is permanently expelled from Lockwood School District. He walks out of class, taking two of his classmates with him. One is Henry David, a popular rich kid with a passion for collecting insects and studying botany. The other student is Liberty, or Libby, a street-smart tomboy whose parents committed suicide when she was 6 years old. The three dropouts embark on a freedom quest that leads to building a tree house hideout, starting a secret society, putting on punk shows, committing crimes, going to jail, and ultimate redemption when something surprising happens the day of Rand's trial. What will the verdict be? Will Rand be a prisoner for the rest of his life? Or, will school truly be out forever in Lockwood?