In the aftermath of a cataclysmic eruption, America becomes a wasteland trapped in a suffocating volcanic winter. In sixteen-year-old Sera Donner's isolated Pacific Northwest town, thousands are dead and hundreds are missing--including her own mother. With precious resources running low, neighbor turns against neighbor, sparking a brutal civil war, and when the new survivalist regime decide's Sera's disabled brother isn't fit to live, she picks up the rifle she's vowed never to touch and fights to defend those she loves. Mysterious Micah Abrams is Sera's only comfort in the chaos; Micah clings to an inexplicable hope that Sera finds hard to resist but difficult to understand. She longs to let down her guard and reveal to him a secret that's tearing her apart. But with the stakes higher than ever, can Sera really trust a schoolyard bully suddenly turned prophet? As the battle over control of the community reaches a fevered pitch, a powerful military leader marches into town with an imposing force, offering food, water, and promises of salvation. Everyone thinks the worst is finally over. They're wrong.