Nicholas Schefield is freshman at Bradford University, an elite New England school. Soon after arriving at Bradford, Schefield is confronted by Krause Wilhelm Lunz, a co-founder of the NPP, National Peoples Party, an extreme right-wing political group. Lunz perpetually taunts Schefield with virulent racist and antisemitic views and vast conspiracy theories, telling him the United States is dead, that fascism will replace it, and that the NPP is ready to fill the void. When Schefield falls in love with Monique Dubois, an African American student at Bradford, he finds the courage to stand up to Lunz. Life spirals into a whirlwind of anger and raw emotions between Schefield and Lunz. The Sacred and the Damned is a story of hate and love that reaches deep into the soul of America.