Fortney Curtis has a large body and rugged features for a boy of sixteen, but his violent temper is really what has earned him his nickname: The Brute.
As a favor to his father, Fort reluctantly agrees to go on one last campout with their Boy Scout troop. Isolated in the vast Flint Hills of Kansas, disaster strikes. When a tornado destroys their campsite, Fort finds himself responsible for six younger boys. He fears that nothing in his training could have prepared him for what he needs to get through this experience.
Fort digs deep and draws on his survival skills, resourcefulness, and physical strength to get the other boys to safety. In this time of stress and fear, he finds the greatest challenge comes from within. Can he control his temper when so much depends on him? Or will he buckle under the demands of his new challenge?