It was a planet much like this, in a time much like now. There were several rounds of limited nuclear warfare. Solar flares knocked out large sections of the power grid, as well as disabling many satellites. Then, a volcano in the Canary Islands erupted, sending a massive tsunami into Europe and the East Coast of the United States. The drug cartels declared independence from Mexico, and invaded the American Southwest. Following this, came a monster earthquake and tsunami off the Oregon and Washington coast. Adding to the destruction and disruption, Mount Rainier erupted. Weeks later, just after Thanksgiving, the New Madrid fault flattened everything along the Mississippi from St. Louis to Memphis. For New Year's, a terrorist nuke took out Times Square and most of New York City. While all this was going on, the government decided to clean the air by shutting down all coal and oil facilities in the country. Lyle and his wife were surviving on a small ranch in Nebraska. Although largely self-sufficient, they still needed some supplies. Since there was no longer any gas, getting those supplies was a challenge. Lyle had to ride a half-trained stallion fifteen miles to town to see what he could get. On the way, he discovered cannibals had moved into the area between his ranch and town. That really messed with his quiet rural lifestyle. Soon, however, he found the cannibals were the least of his problems.