Her mother asks her to retrieve a cure now that her own sister Katie has taken ill; the owners of the attraction ceased to provide modern medical care to the villagers in order to preserve its authenticity.

She learns that the Clifton tour guides tell the visitors that the residents get modern medical care and are free to leave whenever they want, something that Jessie knows to be untrue.

Jessie convinces local newspapers and radio stations to attend a press conference on the steps of the Capitol building.

When the media arrives, Jessie begins to explain the situation but faints due to diphtheria, which infected her before she left Clifton.

It turns out that the entire plan was a science experiment where they would plant diseases in the hope that those with stronger immune systems would survive.

Simon & Schuster, who published Running Out of Time, noted that the film The Village (2004) had a number of similarities to the book.

[3] The film's plot also features a village whose inhabitants choose to live in a manner reminiscent of the 1800s, when the year is 2004 and a young female protagonist escapes to acquire medical supplies.