The novel begins in January 2032, as THOMAS PETERSON is on his private jet to the annual Davos conference, the globally famous annual confab of the elite. After he lands, the unfamiliar GERALD FLYNT greets him, and soon Flynt's thugs drag Peterson to a remote safehouse. Peterson's assistant DYLAN JENKINS enlists the aid of the Davos security chief, while Peterson is held captive by Aegis, a radical anti-technology terrorist group. Two days later, Peterson is rescued by U.S. special forces in a bold operation, and all of his safehouse captors are killed except for the group's leader, Flynt.
Meanwhile, the novel moves to the second setting of Stanford University, where WESLEY WILLIAMS is campaigning for the U.S. Senate as a third-party candidate, aided by his youthful campaign manager TOBIAS HUANG. After his speech, the entire nation sees Aegis' first video broadcast, confusing and frightening the public. Then, U.S. Senator DINAH CRANSTON, running as an incumbent, encounters former staffer and mentally unstable ROBERT KULLY as she is leaving her office late one night.
Next, in Jackson, Wyoming, ALAN and JANE DYER are preparing to leave their estate to become "space tourists" on the maiden voyage of the Coda rocket, at the invitation of Toffler. Toffler has long (erroneously) been convinced that the Dyers' product, AutoNet, a widespread technology for self-driving cars, led to the death of his fiance.
The next day, Wesley is heading up to San Francisco for a political fundraiser, but his travel is impeded by a rowdy mob, led by "SLEDGE," a charismatic rabble rouser. The Dyers arrive at the Coda launch site in the Nevada desert. The Coda rocket launches and soon Toffler detonates a nuclear bomb from his rocket, seemingly killing all aboard. Afterward, the federal government mounts an enormous, months-long effort to salvage the Bay Area.
Seven months after the attack, Wesley resumes his campaign in San Francisco, but a gunman injures him and kills Huang. In the interim, Peterson has formed an ambitious new project, Osiris, which is a tech-free utopian community. Two imposters kidnap Jenkins from Osiris and fly him to Mexico. They force him to contact Peterson and try to trick him into flying down as well. Alarmed, Peterson reaches out to Senator Cranston to rescue Jenkins, and when she refuses to help, he engages his own mercenary force to fly to Mexico, rescue his assistant, and destroy Aegis. Only Toffler escapes.
A month later, hiding in the wine country, Toffler encounters "MAC," an old, mysterious man who seems eerily omniscient. Per Mac's advice, Toffler contacts an ambitious reporter at the Los Angeles Times and tells him about the shocking evidence he has about the US President Wright's deceptions. The information is potent enough to destroy Wright's Presidency which, if left unchecked, would probably lead to nuclear war with China. Later, Peterson and Jenkins discover Toffler's body hanging from a tree at the Osiris complex along with a cache of information linking President Wright to Aegis and, by extension, the disaster in the Bay Area.
In the ensuing mayhem caused by President Wright, his cabinet secretly agrees to remove the President based on the 25th amendment. Wright angrily pledges to fight them. Senator Cranston is implicated in the assassination attempt against Williams, which virtually guarantees her defeat in the imminent election. Having found shelter for his wife and children in rural Northern California, Williams enjoys the eve of election night with his family where he experiences an epiphany: the path he has been following has been correct, in spite of all his fears and the trauma the nation has endured. They are all finally home.
