Sam Delgado, a conservative PhD candidate in anthropology, heads from New York to Wyoming to investigate a cave in the mountains with several other students, only one of whom is accustomed to anything but city life. On the drive out, they hear news that the U.S. banking system has been hacked and all credit card use shut down. Sure that things will be back up and running by their return, they press on, hiring the local Tappan family to guide them to the cave and keep them safe at camp. Disconnected from the outside world, the crew hears rumors of ongoing devastation in the rest of the country: the banks never reopen and, as America's financial system crumbles, the already extremely divided country devolves into chaos. Meanwhile, Sam and the Tappans must learn to work together to survive.