"Coventry" is a science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 short story

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 by Robert A. Heinlein

Robert A. Heinlein

Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...

 and part of his Future History

Future History

The Future History, by Robert A. Heinlein, describes a projected future of the human race from the middle of the 20th century through the early 23rd century. The term Future History was coined by John W. Campbell, Jr. in the February 1941 issue of Astounding Science Fiction...

 series. It was collected into the book Revolt in 2100

Revolt in 2100

Revolt in 2100 is a 1953 collection by Robert A. Heinlein and is part of his Future History series.The contents are as follows:* Foreword by Henry Kuttner, "The Innocent Eye"...

.

Plot summary

The protagonist, David MacKinnon, is a romantic idealist up for trial for assault. Since the government fears that he will repeat his action, he is given a choice: either allow trained psychologists to fix him, or leave to an area known as Coventry

Send to Coventry

To send someone to Coventry is a British idiom meaning to ostracise someone, usually by not talking to them. To be sent to Coventry is to be regarded as absent. It is often used by children to bully others, and can be used to punish people who, for example, refuse to join a strike...

. MacKinnon chooses to emigrate so he can escape the boredom of a too-civilized future. He is sent to the rugged outland beyond the Barrier, where people who refuse to abide by social norms are exiled, rather than submit to radical psychotherapy

Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy is a general term referring to any form of therapeutic interaction or treatment contracted between a trained professional and a client or patient; family, couple or group...

. He finds out that the peaceful anarchy

Anarchism

Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...

 he envisioned is but a corrupt democracy

Democracy

Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...

 and he is immediately jailed, losing all his goods. Outside of the democracy is a military dictatorship and a group of expatriate of the former theocracy

Theocracy

Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....

. Befriended by a man he knows only as "the Fader," he breaks jail

Prison escape

A prison escape or prison break is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture them and return them to their original detainers...

. He then finds out that the dictatorship is planning an attack on civilization. He breaks out of Coventry with Fader to warn everyone. He then learns that the Fader is actually an agent of the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

, and that he has redeemed himself by risking his life to warn the rest of the country.