Foreign forces rule Australia. A Coalition-of-the-Willing force moved in to protect investments and the right to access natural resources. The government had cut off sales of uranium to nuclear-armed countries, and oil and coal to heavy polluters. After staged "terrorist attacks", the foreign troops arrived. A group of nationalists – The Crowd – are set on liberation. When opposition to authority is crushed and those placed to effect change do nothing, insurgency becomes the first step towards revolution. The price though is high, attracting as much doubt as support. With the uptake of extremism to oust the invaders, social cohesion makes way for chaos in daily life. Troubled by a society tearing at itself, Butler finds himself wedged between the opposing forces. The Coalition, bent on destroying the "terrorists", want to know what Butler does, and it becomes a game of to-ing and fro-ing between the truth and the rest.