Eleanora "Nell" Meier, a longtime civil servant, is suddenly suspended from her job because of an accusation about her loyalty. The source of the accusation and its contents are kept from her. In her yearlong fight to clear her name and prove her innocence against these unknown charges, she finds people who she thought were her friends are avoiding her, fearful of being contaminated by association with her. As she fights these charges in the Kafaesque world in which she finds herself, she is buoyed by her loyal North Carolina family and some friends who refuse to be cowed by the atmosphere of fear that grips the country. One of these is her boss with whom a romantic attachment grows during the course of the year. Although this is a work of fiction, it is based on events that did happen during the 1950s of the McCarthy period and the work of the House UnAmerican Committee. Events during this time loom in background as Nell fights for her dignity and her reinstatement.