In this novel of a probable near future, America is sliding towards tyranny. Dissident Joel Walter is wanted for a crime he didn't commit. His computer-hacker friend Nephi introduces him to an underworld where technology is Americans' last bastion of freedom and privacy. He helps Joel assume a new identity and disappear into the technological underground. Ever-increasing repression drives Joel, Nephi, and others into open rebellion in a desperate bid to retain their precious liberties.