The Prepared Mind

Taking a hiatus from his position as a university professor, Nathan Salt is trying his hand at photography while he sorts things out. He has also begun a new relationship with the owner of a local bookstore, Betty Fable. One aspect of Nathan's down time is embracing the concept of ignorance as a possible scientific tool, a sort of zen approach to problem solving. Meanwhile, a local boy - Brian Loomis - is experiencing an existential crisis of his own. To his family and teachers, he seems to be descending into the society of white supremacists; some are even starting to suspect he may be on the path to a mass shooting. Brian's mother, Nancy Loomis, is about to undergo an out-of-state cancer treatment, necessitating the arrival of her own mother, Sandy Beechman, to oversee Brian. Meanwhile, a ragtag trio of while nationalists - Kong, Chief and Driver - plot to make a stand for white power, much to the chagrin of Burt, the wealthy and elusive man seeking to legitimize their organization. And then there is Jet, a classmate of Brian's, who has taken a romantic interest in him. Unfortunately, a number of Jet's former sexual partners use their past encounters as a pretext for belittling her, most particularly Clarke, a greasy meth-head who revels in tormenting Jet's current boyfriend. As Brian digs himself ever deeper into the rabbit hole of white supremacy and their obsession with firearms and fascist politics, Nathan works out an approach asking the "right questions," which may (or may not) avert a catastrophe.