Twelve-year-old Joshua has been late ever since his birth, three weeks past his due date. He also experiences short jumps into the past that he can’t control. Confiding in the wrong person earns him regular sessions with a psychologist and endless ridicule from classmates. He’s left with only one friend—Abbey, his miniature dachshund.

He’s sent to a camp in the north woods of Michigan, nicknamed Late Camp, which specializes in treating tardiness. He and Abbey arrive, surprised to find boys and girls weirdly obsessed with punctuality. Cult-like elements surface—the campers are brainwashed. Joshua is bullied and shunned. Earning one’s release seems impossible, and escape is not an option. Joshua’s determined to find a way home.

A faceless ghost haunts the grounds. Seber, a girl trapped in her shadow, tells Joshua there’s a dark secret behind Late Camp, and children who know too much disappear. She also tells him the camp has been waiting for his arrival. Joshua and his bunkmate, Mario (12), discover they are telepaths. It turns out all late kids have dormant mental abilities that interfere with punctuality. The camp is activating and developing these abilities, especially Joshua’s unique connection to the timestream. He suspects his training is connected to the dark secret.

Ghosts are sighted, and they’re operating alien-looking devices. A camper survives teleporting into a tree. Answers to the mounting mysteries may lie with Joshua’s own dog. After a boy is seriously injured, Joshua is ready to use his emerging powers to escape, but that would mean deserting the new friends who are counting on him. If he stays, he’ll risk his life to uncover the truth about Late Camp.

Joshua and the Mystery of Late Camp is a real-world science fiction novel from Richard Sammis, yet unpublished. If you’re interested in reading the latest draft and offering suggestions, please contact the author.