In the small town of Black Mountain, North Carolina they are finally starting to piece things back together after the EMP strike of two years ago. John Masterson has led the town in defeating multiple enemies, and now they even have a little bit of electrical power available, though it must be rationed carefully. John's wife has a child on the way and there is an underlying hope to everything going on. Even though the United States will never be the same, it might now be possible to carve out a reasonable existence. That all changes when a stranger arrives on the fringe of the community looking for John. This person used to be the aide of one of John's former military commanders, General Bob Scales, but unfortunately he dies before John can chat with him. He did, however, deliver a possible warning before he passed, that another EMP attack could be on the way, and this one delivered by what is supposedly our own government.
To make matters worse, General Scales is now in charge of the military forces in the Eastern US and he has been tasked forcibly bringing John into custody for his actions in the last book. John and his small community know they can't stand up against General Scales and his forces but they are willing to fight for what they believe in. John is also hopeful that he can talk to his old commander and reach some kind of deal, but General Scales' orders don't allow for that kind of flexibility. Now two old friends find themselves on opposite sides and it could easily result in the death stroke of what used to be know as the United States of America.
This series has kept me engaged the whole way and I must say I really enjoyed the ending of this one. I hope this is also the end of the series, because that will mean it ends on a high note. This is without a doubt one of the better apocalyptic series out there and I would recommend it if realism is what you are looking for. There are no zombies or aliens in the mix here, just a small town in the USA trying to survive the apocalypse. Bronson Pinchot narrates the audiobook and he does an excellent job, so this is a worthy listen.