Jak lives with his grandfather in the production “community” of Fieldworks 7, one of many such facilities in the country of Greater California. One day Jak ventures into a previously unnoticed basement in their shack. He finds the “deep time tapes,” revealing knowledge that has been suppressed and hidden for perhaps centuries. The tapes tell of the Truth Wars, of how disinformation from websites such as Factbook and Truthbook helped destroy the world: among many other revelations.
News of Jak’s discovery finds its way to the wrong people.
Chased across the country of Greater California by the Truth Police (a paramilitary group set up long ago), Jak finds hope in groups of people he thought were only legend, the Wanderers, peoples who have never lived in a Fieldworks community.
Jak’s quest for Truth and survival costs him more than he could have ever imagined.