Winston is a journalist working at the end of Donald Trump's first term in office. Over the last four years, Trump has altered the landscape of America dramatically, directly and indirectly: Florida has gone underwater, US troops fight each other in Nevada, and the government is seizing genome-sequencing data to identify and persecute those with a "gay gene." Amidst it all, Winston works for a fast-news company, fabricating stories that alt-right companies request. The workday is quick-paced: journalists have to respond quickly to pick up the better stories, and they only have 30 minutes to write before they must move onto the next story. Winston works next to a man, Carl, who's apathetic about what he does. They actively feed lies and breed insurgency, but at least they make enough money to live. One day, Carl is taken by government officials for having spread lies against and supporting enemies of the US government. He leaves Winston with a flash drive, which Winston takes to a library in a small town. The flash drive gives Winston access to a few bullet points about Nazi Germany that closely mirror Carl's situation (as well as his own): a journalist, Streicher, who published stories that aided Nazi Germany's regime by encouraging the extermination of Jews, was tried and executed after the war for supporting its atrocities.