In the near future a family must make difficult decisions as they balance staying together with trying to survive. They live in Los Angeles, which has been occupied by a force of outside intruders. While some people have chosen to collaborate with the authorities and benefit from the new order, others have rebelled — and suffer the consequences.

Capt. Jeffery McDonald is convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1979 for the murders of his wife and two children at their Fort Bragg home.