California has seceded from America, becoming high-tech and liberal where the rest of America has reverted back to strongly conservative values. Perched directly on the border between the two nations is the bookstore First and Last Page, where owner Molly and her daughter Phoebe remain stubbornly neutral, selling books to both sides. Occasionally they help a refugee cross the border, and Molly does what she can to keep the worst of both countries at bay, refusing to stock books that are overtly racist, and attempting to stock and preserve as many paper books as possible in an era when electronic copies of books are routinely hacked and modified with rogue advertising. Phoebe hangs out in the woods with other kids from both sides, and is involved in a burgeoning love triangle with an American boy and a Californian girl. But this delicate balance shifts when California and America go to war over California's co-opting of a valuable water supply. With the bombs flying, Molly gets her daughter and all the current customers from both halves of the shop into a safe room, where they shelter together. Moral arguments soon begin to erupt between the Americans and Californians in the room. It is Phoebe who comes up with the idea of a book club discussion, and this knits everyone back together; they shelter in peace, saved both physically and metaphorically by the books that surround them.