The story takes place in the United States around 2004. James Miller is trying to get away everything: his life, his past, and his recent notice of redeployment to Iraq. His situation is compounded when he meets Leena, a thirteen year old Muslim girl he finds hiding in the back of his truck. As they take their journey north, their unlikely situation becomes one that will redefine their lives. The Sandbox is a story about people, the commonalities that hide underneath race, religion, and culture, and the effects of war on the human mind.