The drought in Southern California continues to escalate. When Arizona and Nevada back out of the reservoir relief deal, the taps run dry.  Crowds rush to nearby stores to grab water off the shelves. Soon neighborhoods are without water except for those who prepared.  Alyssa and her younger brother, Garrett, find themselves in dire circumstances when their parents do not return from seeking water at a desalination station on the coast.  Their Eagle Scout neighbor, Kelton, offers to help Alyssa find answers.  The trio is thrown into chaotic situations as the SoCal population turns desperate for water.  When it becomes apparent that help will not arrive in time from government agencies, the trio must work together to survive the Tap-Out.

After the Second Civil War, known as the Heartland War, leaders of United States of America put into place a set of amendments known as “The Bill of Life.” These amendments protect human life from conception until the child reaches the age of thirteen.  From the age of thirteen until a child reaches the age of eighteen, a parent may choose to have a child unwound.  As Shusterman’s story begins, unwinding is a common practice in society.

Connor and Risa are on a bus to an unwinding center.  Lev, a tithe, is traveling by Cadillac to the center. An accident causes their paths to cross, and now they are on the run from the Juvey-cops.  If Connor, Risa, and Lev can survive until they are eighteen, they will remain whole.