The mother of all disasters Think of the 1800s, the wagontrains, and the people who crossed the prairie looking for a better life. Now fast-forward to the new millennium and the worldwide economy totally crashing, causing unbelievable chaos and violence. Through Native American prophecy, Aaron Hodges sees it coming and envisions building a hidden colony to ride out the likely decades-long crisis. When the crash came nobody could point a finger and blame a specific thing. The United States and the world were locked in drought, stagnant economy, and rampant pollution. Too many people were wasting too much, demanding too much standard of living, and too much money created too much free time and entertainment, for, as one height was reached boredom prevailed, and more and greater thrills were demanded. More wood, more metal, more food and drink, and more oil. The oil flow stopped. Then the flow of supplies stopped. The civilized world found itself trapped inside a steel, concrete, and plastic wasteland with no utilities, no food, no water. And no gasoline. Aaron Hodges is the bellwether. He sees the future through the prophecies of his Nez Perce friend, Four Crows. When the crash happens, martial law is declared. No taking a caravan down a hardtop road. So some 60 people go cross-country in 16 covered wagons each pulled by a 4-horse team, over fields, prairie, and forest, about 40 days and 300 miles from southern Minnesota farming country into northern Minnesota wilderness. Caroline Jentner is the love of Aaron's life. She has a partly-crippled, seven-year-old daughter, Jennie. Little Jennie doesn't have a big part, and doesn't appear until chapter 12, but when she does appear she will capture your heart. You will come to love her, and she helps Aaron and her mom finally get together. Caroline often has the viewpoint, and sees the world quite differently from Aaron. George, a senior citizen hobo, has no last name and a peculiar body odor. Later, George will become Aaron's handyman at his small farm, and throughout their relationship serves as Aaron's living conscience. Set in the near future, novel runs for two years. Background themes include the economy, environment, and a shadowy "master race" organization. This novel is character-driven, just normal people loving and finding love, surviving, and reacting to circumstances as best they can. You will like the characters, you will care what happens to them, and at the end you will cheer.