Murray discusses her fears of storytelling as well as boundaries that we must set, the four essential properties of digital environments, and accurately predicts new media genres such as MUDs, 3-D films, etc.

After Janet Murray earned her bachelor's degree, she became employed at IBM, where she would be surrounded by a virtual environment that was more technologically advanced than what most people experienced in their daily lives.

She also explores agency, which she defines as "the satisfying power to take meaningful action and see the results of our decisions and choices" and the ability of technology to transform anything digital.

[5] In the following parts, "Procedural Authorship" and "New Beauty, New Truth", Murray discusses the impact of users being able to interact with a multiform plot, which she feels are more appealing and satisfying in the new digital environment.

Upon its initial release, popular critic Michiko Kakutani expressed that Murray's work ignored the possible downsides of technology while embracing "utopian" ideals.

[10] Many agreed that the book seemed daunting or even "unsettling" when first introduced to the public in the late 1990s, while more recent critics have come to recognize the accuracy of Murray's predictions regarding the new medium for storytelling.