The United States of America is a nation of racial intolerance and has been for centuries. In the imagined near future of K 3: The Divided States of America, the KKK has terrifying power over the country. Resistance seems to be a futile effort, and American citizens adhere to and adapt to their new realities. But Americans of the past, who did fight for equality, left clues to help their descendants again take up righteous causes. Mikela Flanders is from one such family line. With the help of her friends and a young American Indian, along with an army of wolves, Mikela brings the United States of America back to reality. Author Tracie O'Neil Horton, whose own eyes were opened to racism while serving in the US military overseas, wrote K 3 both to open others' eyes to hate crimes and to inspire readers to change the country's trajectory through courage and love.