For eighth grader, Brynn O'Neill, it's just a normal, boring Friday night in a small town...until the electricity in her home fails...and then her parents don't return home.
She and her siblings, Seamus and Ciara, attempt to make this seem normal for their overprotective parents. But, by Sunday, they realize that something is wrong.
Very wrong.
After venturing out of their home and into their small community, they discover that the power is out everywhere else, as well...in addition to all lines of communication.
After befriending brothers Peter and Colby with food, the O'Neill's return home to wait for word from their parents. The following day, Peter and Colby appear at the O'Neill house with a message, and the strange group—which now includes their overly protective Beagle dog, Finn—decides to set out for Chicago to find Brynn's parents. As they deal with each other, redneck hillbillies, power-hungry people, and a general lack of normalcy, Brynn learns about love...and the real world.