In a flash, everything changes. After a group of radical environmentalists breaks into the house of a prominent oil company executive and holds him and his family hostage, the stage is set for a popular movement to coalesce around the incident. They call themselves "Tarstoppers," and by occupying Calgary's parks and public areas they hope to shut down the oilsands. But even the most cynical of their number couldn't anticipate what happened next. Now Tim and Shannon, an ordinary couple caught up in the middle of history, must navigate a world newly populated with fifth columnists, foreign radicals, agent provocateurs and black bloc anarchists as chaos ensues right outside their door.