This novel is set in a near future San Francisco, with just slightly more intense surveillance than at the time of writing. For instance, high schools do not have facial recognition surveillance, because that was found unconstitutional, but instead they have gait recognition software, which can also individuals. The teenaged protagonists of the novel hack this by putting gravel in their shoes to alter their stride.
The plot is set in action when a terrorist attack  causes Homeland security to vastly increase surveillance and control of the population, largely using techology. The teen protagonists fight this by hacking the systems, creating their own technologies to circumvent the systems, and questioning everything. The adults, are portrayed as passively acquiescing to the totalitarian state.Â