Sahra, an Arab-American girl living in a dystopian America, leaves messages for her ex-lover Fox, updating him on her location and daily life as she travels throughout the Dakotas with her mother. Her mother is a teacher who is a part of “the Movement,” which advocates for a nomadic lifestyle: continuous moving and avoidance of places corrupted by violence, also known as isolation zones. Sahra’s mother, who is in a wheelchair, insists on constantly switching locations even during the cold and dangerous winter, and at each new residence she gives speeches about her husband’s disappearance to ignite passion for the Movement.

Sahra’s messages to Fox reveal that Fox and Sahra had an argument about belonging and immigration shortly before he abandoned the mother-daughter duo, despite knowing that Sahra’s mother has a life-threatening illness. In her anger, Sahra had cut off a red bracelet Fox had given her, but she keeps the thread with her.

As she nears the end of her life, Sahra’s mother finally decides to settle down in the home she was born in, where she loses her memory and eventually dies. Sahra reaches out to Fox again, finding comfort in leaving a thread of messages for him. Fox finally responds by her last message.