"A rousing what-if look at a decidedly different America persuasively stuck in a historical past." – Kirkus Reviews

A college party lands freshman Hal Christianson in an America that could have been: no smartphones, no cars, no flush toilets. What he finds is a squabbling bunch of states, the consequence of the colonies having grown up on their own after European civilization collapsed from plague in the 1670s, and they are poised on the brink of war.

For a socially awkward young man, who takes refuge in online games, this is a bad situation. He has no knowledge or experience that is useful in this world. He does, however, have one skill of value in a world where the rifle is a new invention – he is a competitive fencer.

What do you do when the world is strange and you have no way to control your own fate? Can Hal grow up fast enough to survive in this world and can he find a way home?