American Leftovers is the story of Heidi, Eric, and Shaun, three children who follow their parents through eastern Europe on Bible-smuggling adventures in the early 1970s. When they return to the States, they face third-culture questions of home and identity. They also deal with sexual situations and abuse, while settling into an evangelical bubble with their parents who pastor a fast-growing church. Everything collapses when their father runs off with an eighteen-year-old girl, leaving behind his family and church. This forces Heidi, Eric, and Shaun to reconcile their own spiritual fervor with the lies and dysfunction so close to home.