Dunstan has had big ambitions his entire life -- bigger than the small lakeside town of Knockum -- imagining himself heading a chorus line with a leading man he hasn't quite cast yet. But on his way out of town for good, a gang of his classmates capture him and send him to the bottom of nearby Lake Mallion, rumored to harbor a magical door in its depths. Before Dunstan drowns, the door opens. On the other side is the Geodom of Jet and the reptilian...

"Did I have a grievance? Most of us, without looking far, could find something that had harmed us, and oppressed us, and unfairly held us back. I tried not to dwell on it, thought it healthier not to, though I'd lived my short life so far in a chaos of privilege and prejudice. Dave Win is thirteen years old in 1961, when he first goes to stay with the wealthy Hadlows, who sponsor his scholarship at a boarding school where their son Giles is his classmate....