It is 2,241 years after the human race resumed counting. America has undergone a prior century of tyranny. The country is slowly finding its way again under the leadership of President Schulberhe. While no one doubts the good he has already brought the Nation, others question his motives. He is a foreigner, after all, hailing from the war-torn Island of Artemisia. When Janice Smith's mother is suddenly targeted as a national threat and attacked in their home, the twelve-year-old girl escapes. While evading the agents who pursue her, Janice stumbles upon an underground society living outside the System's absolute control. They have been watching the influx of Artemisians for years and stand ready to resist the President's unfolding plans.