In the very near future the American economy is in tatters, global warming is ruining the agricultural industry, the US has been the cause of nuclear war between India and Pakistan and Uncle Sam has become the world's pariah state. Amidst this chaos Drew, an ex-special forces operative, is attempting to create a life as a photographer and during a weekend in the Appalachians is trying to pluck up the courage to propose to his lover, Sheila. During a storm they shelter in a defence bunker, but Drew swiftly realises that they are seeing a very secret facility and hustles Sheila out. But it is too late - their entry has been monitored and within minutes a large force is mobilised to capture them. Using all the skill the military had taught him Drew manages to keep them one terrifying step ahead of the pursuit. Then, desperate for food and water, they make a simple mistake and Drew is captured. Facing his interrogator he realises that he's a prisoner not of the state but of a group planning a coup, and when he puts that knowledge together with what he had seen in the bunker he knows what weapon they are going to use to achieve their end - one which will destroy far more of America than its central government.