Drawing on strands like global warming, the decline of America, the peculiar dystopia that is California and keen observations about a certain militarism and insecurity this novel is a dreamlike tour of hell. Theft, rape, violence and even a lugubrious cannibalism feature strongly and the atmosphere is heavy on latent treats. It is all matter of fact which makes things even more oppressive. A certain mysticism creeps in with the exodus myth reenacted. If the future is one of walled communities, what happens when the walls break down. Will the noxious company towns of yore return? Will indentured servitude return?