For the four young women in Assassination Nation , revenge is tied inextricably with survival. After half of the town of Salem's phones are hacked, the citizens descend into a state of lawless mayhem — and, for reasons we won't spoil, these four high school girls become the angry mob's primary targets. Violence is done to these high schoolers, and they do it right back. Assassination Nation provocatively suggests that by embracing their perpetrator's violent tactics, Lily and her friends can vanquish these individuals, and usher in a better world order.