"The concept of 48 States is original, and sets the story apart from others of its genre. [It's] an intriguing, futuristic story that was yet to be told until now.The book does raise very interesting concepts about governing, duty, and self-love, all of which come across artfully in the narrative and serve to develop the characters from beginning to end." - The Book Life Prize In 2042 the United States is recovering from a series of terrorist attacks that upended the government, rewrote our civil liberties, and erased two states from the map. River, a widow, single mother and veteran of the Caliphate Wars, works as a waste hauling trucker in Energy Territory No. 1, formerly known as North Dakota. Living in a dingy motel room with nothing but her books and a semiautomatic pistol for company, she is weeks away from the end of her contract and returning to her young daughter. Finn Cunningham, a hydrologist with the United States Geology Survey (USGS) in Montana, is suspicious of environmental changes he's seeing in nearby western waterways and decides to investigate. His decision sets him on a collision course with River, sending them both on the run. One a fugitive, the other a reluctant participant, they develop an affinity for each other, sharing stories of past loves, loss, and hardship. 48 States is a one-of-a-kind dystopian thriller about the dangers of extremism and the power of love and forgiveness.