Under house arrest following his attempted escape from the State, renegade film historian Kevin Quartermain is tasked by the Minister of Communication with deciphering the meaning behind a mysterious video signal that has appeared on the State Communication Channel. He enlists the help of his old friend, archivist George Kaplan, who now exists only as an AI simulation inside the Image Chamber. Their search for answers about the footage leads them back to the birth of cinema itself.

"The Driver drives. The dashboard camera records movement. The footage is broadcast. The event has made the State afraid. Why?"