What if happiness isn’t about being safe?

In 2053, a massive concrete wall divides the United States. Thirteen-year-old Sophie Johnson lives a safe, if boring, existence with her grandmother on the Confederated Cities side, a society founded on biblical principles. Sheltered from the evils of the godless democracy on the other side, she’s always accepted her life in Fremont City.

Then she witnesses the arrest and escape of a strange man in the park and meets Miguel, a new boy at school who’s moved to Fremont City from Seattle—on the other side of the wall—and she begins to question everything she’s been told. Her curiosity further piqued by information she learns about her parents’ past, she’s determined to find answers.

But what she discovers will turn her life upside down. The Elders employ horrific means to ensure “desirable” behavior in the idyllic society they’ve created, and now Sophie and her family may be next . .