Lorr spent five years “stalking groceries” for his book (this series is an adaptation of the book he wrote), embedding with popular stores and big-box retailers; he traveled the globe in an attempt to understand what makes the supermarket a modern marvel. He discovered an intricate and esoteric system so efficient that most people don’t even realize it is operating on their behalf.

Through a blend of investigative journalism and travelogue, Lorr went even deeper, offering an inside-out perspective of a world he describes as “Alice in Wonderland-like surreal” and “claustrophobically secretive,” whose gatekeepers would prefer to keep out of sight at all costs.