People are uncomfortable around Jason – it’s as if his body is wired in a polarity opposite to everyone else’s. He has struggled his whole life to find acceptance and has found few who can tolerate him. Yet he and his autistic son have found a sense of community in Dunkirk, Idaho, and his instrument repair business has done well.

However, Dunkirk is under siege. The Holy Grace Church has declared that it is going to take over the town and is buying up local real estate at an increasing pace, evicting non-church businesses as it grows – and Jason’s shop is the most recent casualty. Now the church has its eyes set on acquiring the town’s main attraction.

Jason is also an author, and recent legislation banning “objectionable materials” from libraries and restricting minor access to library collections has his Panhandle Authors’ Group up in arms. After several unsuccessful attempts at protest, many in the group have decided that the best way to draw attention to the issue is to write books that might be banned. This decision begins to fracture the group – an important network of friends for Jason.

With private militias now legal in Idaho, a sudden violent event has him wondering if remaining in Dunkirk is worth it, even if leaving means losing the small circle of friends he has developed. Is it time to move to a safer town or to stay and struggle against the forces affecting Dunkirk and the life he has built?