In the near future of 2025, Kayla Reed is a typical high school student worrying about how she will get into art school. She's also worried about her parents. Her father is depressed and not going to work. He claims that it's the fault of his newly received bar code tattoo, which many people are getting as an "easy" form of identification, banking, and shopping options. The bar code is supposed to provide all the vital information on a person with a quick scan. Worldwide conglomerate Global-1, in their dominion over all the world's major business franchises, has forced the legalization of bar codes for all people, starting at the age of seventeen. That means that under law, Kayla will soon be forced to get the bar code tattoo. After tragedy strikes within her family, Kayla joins a resistance group against the bar code in her high school.

Not only does she not want to be labeled, but she notices the strange behavior exhibited by many of the people who have gotten the bar code tattoo. Her best friend's family is suddenly homeless when their bar code tattoos stop working. Her odd neighbor, who works for the drivers license office that administers the tattoo, claims that he has discovered some hidden information contained within the code. Soon after, he is killed by police officers at his job and a false story is publicized that he was an anti-tattoo extremist. Again Kayla's life is turned upside down and she goes on the run from the law, hiding with other resisters against getting the bar code. Kayla decides to journey to the Adirondacks where a safe haven for tattoo resisters is based. Along the way, she meets others who have found a way to survive on the fringe without getting the intrusive tattoo. With the help of these friends, Kayla discovers that the government behind the bar code tattoo has a plan to create their own Utopia.

Ultimately, this story is about loss of freedom that happens when people stop fighting for their rights and lose their human identity. It is set in a near-future dystopian society, but at first glance it doesn't seem like many of the others of its genre because it is so similar to modern day society. There are some unusual plot devices where in which large numbers of resisters start developing mental powers such as telepathy. This is just one example of the author making the plot too easy for the main character. The author also came up with some new "future" teen slang that gets quite repetitive throughout the book. The novel is simply written and geared towards adolescents and young adults. There is a little romance in the book that is age appropriate and no cursing. THE BAR CODE TATTOO is the first book in a trilogy by Suzanne Weyn.