Ben Flesh is one of the men "who made America look like America, whomade America famous." He collects franchises, traveling from state tostate, acquiring the brand-name establishments that shape the Americanlandscape. But both the nation and Ben are running out of energy. Asblackouts roll through the West, Ben struggles with the onset ofmultiple sclerosis, and the growing realization that his lifetime questto buy a name for himself has ultimately failed.