Nathan Portugal is an apathetic, apolitical twenty three year old college freshman, who has to endure his first semester at a small liberal arts school in Western Pennsylvania. Nathan goes from his cozy life of sponging from his parents to his new life on a college campus that is, in his opinion, in the middle of nowhere. Set against the backdrop of the 2004 Presidential Election Nathan encounters other students and citizens who are motivated by the heated political climate--an election that Nathan could not possibly care less about--and his ultra organized, possibly OCD suffering theater major roommate who is his exact opposite. Through his apathy Nathan unwittingly becomes part of a nefarious plot that destroys the world as we know it, mainly because Nathan bungles his role in said plot. As a result Nathan must confront his own short comings and rise above them in order to save humanity.