A professor from Minneapolis bicycles the US perimeter. On the 420-day tour she discovers regions unique in beauty and culture, but similar in what ails them: historical trauma, unsustainable local economies, and crippling fears of people outside their borders. Winkler-Morey discovers paths to overcoming inequality, nativism and urban/rural divisions. The angst and hilarious misadventures of an unlikely bicyclist, poignant stories of the strangers, and acute observations of a historian.