Sara Kern is a young woman who has been sheltered from her family's history out of fear for her safety. With the family thinking that past was behind them, Sara has returned with her mother to the United States to live in a township named after the family. Yet, documents soon surface implicating the family in the coup d'etat that has resulted in America becoming a theocratic state. With their lives once again at risk, Sara and her mother flee for a safer environment. Sara learns about her family history and its relationship to the political environment in America, forcing Sara to confront her identity and define what she wants her future to be. Set in and against the politics and landscape of the American West, Kern's Cross exists both as a place and as a burden to bear.