At the beginning of Houses of Cards in July 2027, the G20 countries announce a coordinated global commitment to stabilize temperatures. It catches everyone by surprise. Dan Delacour and two fellow graduate students at Nova Scotia's Dalhousie University struggle to understand the meaning of the promises made by national governments to control global temperatures rather than global carbon emissions. They skyrocket. The house of cards society's created teeters. A global crisis of apocalyptic proportions looms.
Dan's romantic involvement with a mysterious woman masquerading as a fellow student complicates their efforts. She leads him into a world of intrigue where influential leaders of the world's largest enterprises manipulate the climate crisis for their benefit.
A decade later, the focus moves to the United States. Political divisions fester. A preoccupation with autocratic China's increasing commercial and military influence supersedes concerns for environmental degradation. Tomas Matthews, Luna Grange, and a new generation of climate change crusaders join the struggle to avoid a global catastrophe.