Can a long-term expatriate reconcile her identity with the shifting, complex reality of her home country by traversing its vast landscape via public transit? Irma Kurtz, an American writer who spent three decades living abroad, utilizes her outsider perspective to re-examine the United States. Through a series of Greyhound bus routes, she documents the social fabric, geography, and transient human connections that define the American experience.

The text offers a reflective, observational account that prioritizes the subjective experience of the traveler over a comprehensive sociological study. It serves as a personal meditation on national identity, suitable for readers interested in travel writing and cultural commentary.