Olivia never meant to trap Keegan, an angry foster kid and her only friend, in the story she was writing for ninth-grade English. Sending him in saved him from bleeding to death behind a dumpster, but now he’s stuck in a world of humanoid refugees recovering from a volcanic eruption.
Keegan makes friends with Thoma and works with him caring for farm animals in exchange for being able to sleep in the animal’s shed. But old patterns repeat when Keegan catches the eye of a powerful gang that’s slowly taking control in the chaos. When Thoma’s family ends up on the wrong side of the gang and Thoma is badly beaten, Keegan is faced with the stark realization of what happens to the powerless in a lawless world. He can either sell his soul for food or risk his life by joining the Law Keepers in an effort to bring down the gang.
Back at home, Olivia follows Keegan’s adventures as the story writes itself in her notebook but worry takes a toll on her health and her already strained relationship with her perfect military family. After being attacked by one of Keegan’s old gang mates, Olivia has to figure out how to protect herself when she’s not strong enough to win a fight and Keegan can’t protect her from a world away.