Foreign forces rule Australia.
A Coalition-of-the-Willing force moved in to protect investments
and the right to access natural resources. The government had
cut off sales of uranium to nuclear-armed countries, and oil and
coal to heavy polluters. After staged "terrorist attacks", the foreign
troops arrived. A group of nationalists – The Crowd – are set on liberation.
When opposition to authority is crushed and those placed to
effect change do nothing, insurgency becomes the first step
towards revolution. The price though is high, attracting as much
doubt as support. With the uptake of extremism to oust the
invaders, social cohesion makes way for chaos in daily life.
Troubled by a society tearing at itself, Butler finds himself wedged
between the opposing forces. The Coalition, bent on destroying
the "terrorists", want to know what Butler does, and it becomes a
game of to-ing and fro-ing between the truth and the rest.