The story centers around Sam, an obviously distressed homeless man, who wanders the streets of an unnamed city speaking mostly in odd quotes and sound bites.

After a gang of teenagers try to set him on fire, Sam finally recalls the memory he has been searching for, which was of himself participating in the bloody crushing of Shays' Rebellion.

Eventually, after hearing cryptic words from another homeless man, he comes to the remains of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, where he sees Bea once more, now recognizing her as Columbia.

She tells him that the double he encountered is his own darker side, explaining that after World War I Americans were faced with the dark realities of their country and chose to deny it, creating the other Uncle Sam.

He has further encounters with Britannia, Marianne and a scarred Russian Bear, who offer him advice and encouragement before he confronts the dark, corrupt, overtly capitalist shadow version of himself sitting on a throne made of televisions with his feet propped on the dome of the United States Capitol.

The series was very well received by critics, earning praise from Kirkus Reviews,[2] The San Francisco Chronicle[3] and Alan Moore,[4] among others.