So Far Gone

Published in 2025, So Far Gone is a literary novel by American author Jess Walter. Walter, whose previous novels include Beautiful Ruins and The Cold Millions, draws from his experience as a journalist and lifelong resident of Spokane, Washington, to tell a story about contemporary American politics in the post-truth era.

The novel begins when Rhys Kinnick, a retired journalist who fled to the woods seven years earlier, learns that his daughter, Bethany, has disappeared, leaving him to look after his grandchildren, Leah and Asher. The arrival of the grandchildren forces Rhys to reflect on the impact of his self-exile while facing the threat of militant Christian nationalists led by Bethany’s conspiracy theorist husband, Shane. Walter uses this story to examine The Perils of Escapism, The Challenge of Reckoning With a Broken World, and The Impact of Post-Truth on Family Dynamics.

This study guide refers to the international paperback edition of the novel, published by Harper in 2025.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of substance use, addiction, graphic violence, illness, emotional abuse, physical abuse, cursing, racism, gender discrimination, antigay bias, and death.

Plot Summary

The novel begins when two half-siblings, Leah and Asher Collins, arrive on the doorstep of their grandfather, Rhys Kinnick, who lives on his family’s property, a remote woodland area that was originally intended for use as a sheep ranch. Rhys learns that his daughter, Bethany, has disappeared and has entrusted her children to the custody of her father. Rhys has not seen Bethany in several years, having exiled himself to the woods after punching Bethany’s racist, conspiracy theorist husband, Shane, in the aftermath of the 2016 United States presidential election.

Leah and Asher catch Rhys up on the developments that have happened in his family since he went into exile, causing him to regret his absence and wish that he had been present for the death of his ex-wife, Celia. Shane, who is a right-wing conspiracy theorist, has now fallen in with a militant Christian nationalist group called the Army of the Lord, which Bethany has grown to fear. As a former journalist focusing on environmental issues, Rhys explains that he has kept himself busy by studying the history of philosophy, reconsidering philosophies of the past through a conservationist lens. This does little to impress Asher, a curious boy obsessed with chess, and Leah, a young adolescent who aspires to write a post-apocalyptic Christian adventure novel.

Rhys drives Asher and Leah to the nearby city of Spokane so that Asher can play in a local chess tournament. They stop by the Spokane Indian Reservation so that Rhys can reconcile with his friends, Brian and Joanie. Rhys previously offended them by declaring his love for Joanie, who was already Brian’s common-law wife at the time. After forgiving Rhys, Joanie indulges his request for a haircut. In Spokane, Rhys learns that Asher’s chess tournament isn’t for another month. They are intercepted by Shane’s colleagues in the Army of the Lord, one of whom is Dean Burris, a former poacher whom Rhys disgraced in the newspaper. Rhys’s cheek is broken in the ensuing altercation, and Dean abducts the children to return them to Shane.

Rhys reaches out to his ex-girlfriend, Lucy Park, for help. Lucy, the city editor at the Spokesman-Review, connects Rhys to her other ex-boyfriend, a retired police officer named Chuck Littlefield. Chuck, an overzealous investigator with a mean streak, traces Dean to the Rampart, a remote fortress stronghold the Army of the Lord maintains in Idaho. Unable to elicit the support of local law enforcement, Chuck decides to take matters into his own hands, and he arms Rhys for the possibility of a battle with Shane’s militant colleagues. Rhys manages to rescue his grandchildren from the Rampart, while Chuck stays behind to delay Dean and the other militia. This leads to Chuck getting accidentally shot by one of Dean’s co-conspirators, sending him to the hospital.

Rhys drops Leah and Asher off with Brian and Joanie before going to the hospital to check on Chuck. Along the way, Leah reveals that she knows where Bethany is and confides the truth to Rhys. At the hospital, Lucy gets upset with Rhys, pointing out that she will have to take care of Chuck while he is in recovery. Though Chuck shrugs off the injury, Rhys considers again the impact his actions have had on those around him.

Brian and Rhys travel to the Canadian border, following the lead Leah gave them to the Paititi Music Festival. Flashbacks reveal that Bethany escaped to the festival to reunite with her first husband, Doug, after learning that his band would perform songs she had written when they were still together. Bethany’s disappearance is her typical response to crisis, a tendency she developed after she discovered that Rhys was having an affair when she was still in high school. Bethany had attempted to confront Rhys about this affair when he was living in the woods during the COVID-19 pandemic, but his cold, distant response to her presence disillusioned her to the possibility of their reconciliation. Bethany ultimately believes that her father is disappointed in her for choosing disagreeable men as romantic partners and for failing to achieve her aspirations.

When Rhys reunites with Bethany, he convinces her to return with him to Spokane. They soon learn that Leah has gone missing, prompting Bethany to call Shane and endure his rebuke of her. Rhys apologizes to Bethany, admitting that he has failed to live for others as he believes he should. He wants to start living for Bethany and her children and admits to the affair she witnessed many years earlier. Bethany is reassured by Rhys’s promise to continue working towards reconciliation for whatever time they have left together.

Rhys and Bethany deduce that Leah escaped to reunite with David Gallen Jr., the son of Shane’s pastor, after David Jr. learned that his parents were sending him to conversion therapy on suspicion that he is gay. Rhys and Bethany trace David Jr. and Leah to Rhys’s house on the Kinnick property, where they are soon intercepted by Shane and Dean. Bethany attempts to hold the militants off with Rhys’s air rifle. Spurred by his grudge against Rhys, Dean quickly dispatches Rhys and Bethany, provoking Shane to attack him and defend his wife. Dean kills Shane. Rhys responds by disarming Dean with his air rifle. Brian arrives at the last second and neutralizes Dean.

Rhys sells his family’s property and moves to Spokane to be closer to his family. They offer one another support as they move on with their lives. The novel ends with Bethany taking Rhys to the place where she scattered Celia’s ashes, reassuring Celia’s spirit that things are okay now that Rhys has come home.