Civilian War is a novel that follows a family who leaves their home in Minnesota as violence breaks out. They organize with a group of their neighbors to try to get to safety in Canada. Making it across the border is only the first step. Those that make it out have to figure out how to put their lives back together in another country with no information about what is happening to their loved ones back home. Can the family recover from the traumatic disruption of their lives? Will there be an America to return to? The story follows Jim, the father of twins with special needs, as he tries to make the right decisions to keep his family alive and together through the trials they face.