Marcus Trencher's bunker designs do not disappoint. In exchange for his services, he had only one request - that he personally oversee construction of one such bunker, and that it be located outside his rural hometown. It becomes nothing short of a subterranean palace.
Near the doomsday deadline, he sends Henry Plyman to recruit desirables to join them underground. Plyman believes he is filling vital roles to service a population of hundreds, if not thousands. That isn't exactly the case.
Timothy Spencer refuses any part of Trencher's plan, ultimately sacrificing their friendship, and his place in Trencher's bunker.
He does secure a bunker bid, but elsewhere, and nowhere near as luxurious. He mines coal and subsists on a soy-based protein drink. His wife is depressed and his children grow ill. He cannot shake the sense that Trencher has a presence in his miserable new home, and he begins to investigate.
It becomes a tale of two bunkers - one for the haves, and one for the have-nots.
Conspiracy runs deep, truth tends to surface.