Retired Army officer John Matherson moved with his family to Black Mountain, North Carolina. Recently widowed John and his two daughters live in a friendly small-town routine. One day, however, something will disturb it. Suddenly, all electrical appliances stop working. A massive blackout, perhaps? But the truth is crueler than it seems. Behind everything is the explosion of EMP, electromagnetic bombs. And the blackout will be far from temporary. Who will survive in a country that is rapidly sinking from prosperity into archaic society? Drugs are running low, violent robbers are beginning to organize into bands, the first rumors and suppositions about the perpetrators of the attack are emerging. Day after day passes from sinking into dark times until the year is over. A year of John's struggle to preserve his family, his life and his future.
