After an unusually long winter has led to gradual societal collapse, a young woman named Wil supports herself by selling marijuana but finds this skill more difficult due to climate change.

The protagonist Wil is placed at odds with the dominant forces in the novel, as a bisexual woman in a patriarchal society, as an herbalist in a wintry landscape.

[3] Wil contends with various forms of patriarchy and oppressive masculinity, which is exemplified by her boyfriend Lobo, a patriarchal cult called The Church, and the violent gangs that inhabit the post apocalyptic country.

[4][6] D. Harlan Wilson in the Los Angeles Review of Books praised its portrayal of a dystopic Ohio that was rooted in the present day culture of Appalachia.

[5] It was included on the Los Angeles Times list of eight books about the American working class to read instead of Hillbilly Elegy.