The Bill of Rights is no more in America. Instead, the new dictatorship has put in place the articles of Moral Statues, which uphold the Church of America as the official religion and only recognize traditional families and gender roles. Article five dictates that children born out of wedlock are not citizens. Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is one such non-citizen, but she has learned how to keep a low profile along with her mother. Life seems peaceful enough until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with the fifth article, and worse, it is Chase Jennings--Ember's crush--who makes the arrest.