Book One in the CUSA series

In the year 2071, the United States has been completely divided into two countries, one 'black' and one 'white.' Fleeing an employee purge in the Corporate United States of America, Rosa and her family make the dangerous trip from Atlanta to Washington DC across the white-controlled Unincorporated States. In a tribute ambush along the way, Rosa becomes separated from her family and is rescued by the people of the small town of Ascension. First shunned and then embraced by the people of the town, all Rosa wants is to find her way back to her family. But when she attracts the attention of the vicious town boss Elder Oughta, she discovers her loyalty is more divided than she thought.

Seventeen years in the making, Cole's book about a girl trapped between two Americas serves as a reminder of what the United States has become, and what it still could be.