SYNOPSIS

After decades of social upheaval and environmental disaster, America is now jammed into a space a tenth of its original size, called The Great Strip City. Food and water are in short supply, corruption is rampant, and violence is on the rise while the pillars of government and business have fallen apart. Things are bad and about to get worse. One night the lights go out and angry mobs take to the streets in what will be called The Madness Time.
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The Ecchos, urban griots, recount what happened in America through the stories of four friends. Makeda is a woman strong with the power of music and dreams. Train emerges as a charismatic force whose stark vision of the future dismisses America’s history.  Omar is Makeda’s protector,  torn between preparing for war or searching for peace. Second becomes Train’s second-in-command with her own ambitions.
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The only place safe from the anger and violence was a former maximum-security prison called Yesterday. A teacher named Leta has led a group of young people there, including Makeda, Train, Omar and Second, hoping to prepare them to pick up the pieces of a nation in ruins. But the friends take different paths with conflicting ideas about how to rebuild a once great nation. At the core of their disagreement is the question, “Is America a failed idea whose time has passed or an unfinished dream?”