In the year 2055, 13-year-old Jonah Blackburn, his little brother, Rory, and older sister, Suzette, lose their father in a tragic, yet mysterious accident. Two years earlier they'd lost their mother to a rare disease. Everything in their happy life in New Philadelphia was about to change. They'd be torn from the safety and security of the Inner States and banished to the uncertainty of the Outer States. Now as orphans, it was determined they'd need to live with their only surviving relatives. Their grandparents, Abe and Eliza Cranwinkle, owned a farm in Broken Bow, Nebraska. Upon arrival, the children are completely distraught. Suzette withdraws from the family and shuns everything new. Jonah tries to fit in the best he can. Rory is still dazed about his father's death. The boys discover Grandpa's workshop in a beat-up old barn. It contains the remains of a service robot. The boys work together to rebuild it. Over time, Jonah makes friends in order to get parts for the machine. He uses his ingenuity and perseverance to continue the reconstruction process. In the beginning, the bot doesn't function, but one night after a severe thunderstorm, it miraculously comes to life, containing the wisdom and memories of Thomas Blackburn, the children's father. When Suz goes missing, the boys and their robot father return to the Inner States to find her. Upon locating Suz, they then track down the killer, and stop a war that threatens their very existence.