Eleanora "Nell" Meier, a longtime civil servant, is suddenly suspended from her job because of an accusation about her loyalty. The source of the accusation and its contents are kept from her. In her yearlong fight to clear her name and prove her innocence against these unknown charges, she finds people, who she thought were her friends are avoiding her, fearful of being contaminated by association with her. As she fights these charges in the Kafaesque world in which she finds herself, she is buoyed by her loyal North Carolina family and some friends who refuse to be cowed by the atmosphere...