The Land of the Free is dumping them. Denzel Woods, his family, the whole housing complex, are being dumped through the New-Texas Gate. They aren't calling it that. It's Encouraged Immigration. They give you a voucher that will almost buy one of the Conestoga Wagons. In exchange you give up your rights as a citizen of the United States of America.

If you don't take the voucher they bust you for Felony Jaywalking and you go through the Gate with nothing but an orange jumpsuit. The for-profit prisons on the other side of the gates don't have to follow any of the rules protecting the rights of prisoners, because they are not in the United States. They are owned by states, and administered by those states, but they aren't part of the states. The chance of dying is high, and if you do survive your sentence, you'd better hope you have a job waiting because vagrancy on New-Texas is a felony.

Denzel is a member of a local street gang called the Complex Gentlemen, and the Complex Gentlemen have a job for him. Denzel is underage and careful so he doesn't have a record. So the Complex Gentlemen want Denzel and the other wagons from Building Three to smuggle unlicensed chips through the Gate. Also drugs and other things. In exchange they will fix the fabber units that each wagon carries.

Once through the gate Denzel will have to balance his duty to the Complex Gentlemen against his duty to his family and the Building Three Wagon Train.

While the city kid from the tough part of Dallas learns to be a scout, hunter, and leader.

Denzel's whole life has been growing up hard and it's about to get harder. For him and just about everyone else going through the Conestoga Gate.