In the not-so-distant future, San Francisco high school student Marcus is dragged into adangerous world in which the Department of Homeland Security is everywhere. Computers and Web 2.0 have gone to the next level, allowing us all to be interconnected, but also allowing us all to come under tighter scrutiny through tracking permitted by the new technology.

Marcus and his two friends Jolu and Val find themselve in a new American order that becomes a police state after terrorists blow up one of the Bary Area bridges and the tunnel that runs under it, killing thousands. They are targetted as being suspicious because of their "unusual" online behavior. They, along with their other friend Darryl are taken into custody and fall out of society as they are held under suspicion, leading many to believe they died in the attack. Unlike the others, Darryl, who was hurt while being taken into custory, disappears as the others are returned to their families.

Marcus and the others start an underground movement in the hopes of fighting the new DHS policies that seem to be doing more harm to innocent Americans than terrorists.

While, I think the book has a strong message as an indictment of our current willingness to sacrifice our individual rights for security, it is bogged down in explanation of technology and the ineffectiveness of real life DHS policies. It reminds me a lot of Moby Dick, which also took a break from an interesting plotline to include chapters on various aspects of the whaling process.

It is a shame, because the story is quite good, and the characters are witty and realistiv for those of their age. I appreciated how Doctorow attempted to predict where computers and technology will take us in the next few years. He does so in a realistic sense that sets the stage for a world that could really happen. The problem is that I don't think most teens (the intended audience) will stick with the book long enough to finish it. I, who loves dystopian tales, really struggled and only finished it because I needed to review for an award committee on which I serve.