This time around Edward W. Robertson moves his story arc forward right from the start but he does it by mixing the old with the new as Walt returns to being a main character.  There are two main story lines once again with Walt, who we know from Breakers, as the central figure of one and Raina, who was just a child when human civilization fell, as the central character of the other. Right from the start these two story lines offer different perspectives on the state of the Los Angeles basin as human factions vie for control of the area. If you haven't started the series and want to avoid any spoilers that reveal plot points from the prior books then you should stop reading now but know that this book is probably the best of the Breakers series to date because the story arc is finally moving forward, although things don't appear to going well for anyone.

I expected book 2 of this series to pick up where things left off at the end of book 1, Breakers, but to my surprise that is not the case. Instead, Edward W. Robertson decides to start this book in the exact same place that he started the last one - prior to the pending double apocalypse. He also once again chooses to focus on two different sets of characters as they navigate the treacherous waters ahead of them when disaster strikes. This time around both sets of characters are siblings but they start from different socio-economic classes and thus very different circumstances. Ness and Sean are brothers that live with their mother in a trailer in Idaho, which is one of the many ground zero locations for the upcoming outbreak, while Tristan and Alden live with their wealthy parents in Redding, California. Their worlds may start out quite different but the end of civilization as we know it will cause them all to wind up in a very similar place.

Two different couples, one on each coast of the United States, struggle with the typical challenges of modern life. In New York, Walt is happy in his relationship with Vanessa, but he knows that she is planning to dump him because he found a goodbye note when rummaging through her dresser. He is pretty sure that she is cheating on him with one of her fellow actors and he starts scheming ways to keep the relationship going just a bit longer. On the west coast, Raymond and Mia are madly in love but are flat broke and about to lose their home. Raymond is a screw up who can't seem to keep a job and things go from bad to worse as he loses the last of his savings when he tries to make a quick buck. All of these challenges are about to become meaningless as the outbreak from the Outcome novella hits and the world is changed forever.

Ellie Colson has analyzed the data and sees what should be obvious to all of her colleagues - this is no ordinary flu. The rate of infection is scary high and the survival rate is negligible which means this new virus is like nothing we have ever seen before. Her bosses believe the disease will burn itself out quickly because so few survive the infection but Ellie is not convinced. She decides to commit career suicide, and possibly real suicide as well, by walking out on her job and boarding a plane to New York City.  She wants to warn her ex-fiancé, Chip, and get him to a safe place before it is too late but it is a race against the clock that she is not likely to win.