Joshua (12) has few friends growing up in Cincinnati, save his dog and his urban-exploring Uncle Richard. He is habitually late. One day his tardy arrival at school triggers his suspension. He agrees to attend a camp, which specializes in helping time-challenged children.

    Upon arriving, his dog in tow, Joshua finds happy boys and girls enjoying fun activities in the rustic north woods of Michigan. Cult-like elements soon surface, and Joshua realizes he is surrounded by brainwashed campers. CITs (Counselors-in-Training) impose harsh punishments and Joshua dubs them “the Late Police.” Earning one’s way home seems impossible, and a disturbing punishment awaits anyone attempting escape.

    Joshua and his bunkmate Mario (12) start hearing each other’s voices—they are telepaths. Joshua learns that late children have deep-seated mental abilities causing them to lose time. The Late Police are aliens who need those abilities for the dangerous task of opening the portal between worlds. They are building a time-stealing device which will save their dying planet by sending it into the past, which in turn will throw Earth’s inhabitants into a future doomed by global warming.

    Uncle Richard joins the camp staff as the new Assistant Director, cooperating with the Late Police.

    Yanna (12), a feisty girl trapped in her shadow, tells Joshua the camp has been waiting for his arrival. She leads him to a group of campers who have formed a resistance. His mental powers grow by the day, and he joins the fight. He agrees to set off a massive explosion to destroy the alien’s device, only to discover it is hidden in tunnels beneath his hometown of Cincinnati. Joshua must decide if blowing up his home, his family, and a city full of innocent people is too high a price for stopping the Late Police.