Harper Cody used to worry about the SATs or a getting a new laptop for Christmas… but now, she only wants to keep her little sister alive. At 5:59 a.m. early in September, life as she knew it came to an end with a nuclear flash ninety miles away in Colorado Springs. For two months, her family sheltered in the basement of their home, surviving on whatever canned goods Dad could scavenge. Passing evacuees told of a safe haven in the mountains, but her father refused to leave. He thought their home was safe… until a gang of looters kicked in the door. Four years ago at thirteen, Harper won trophies for competition shooting, but killing a man pointing a gun at her is nothing like nailing targets at a range. Hesitation cost her parents’ lives. With no other options, she grabbed her little sister and ran away from the only home she’d ever known into a world she no longer recognized. The promise of safety in Evergreen gives her hope, but unless the girl voted sweetest in her class can find the nerve to kill, Harper—and her kid sister—are as good as dead.

Six months ago, Harper Cody stressed out over finding the right college – now, she’ll be thrilled if she makes it to her eighteenth birthday. Unexpected nuclear war destroyed the world she knew along with her dreams for a future. Violent thugs took away her parents and home, sending her fleeing into the ashes with her traumatized little sister. Following her best hope for survival, she chased a rumor of safety in the mountains. Evergreen, Colorado turned out to be the shelter she’d hoped for. There, her patchwork family could make the best of the world left behind. However, their new home came with an unexpected to keep her father’s shotgun and protect her sister, sweet, introverted Harper had to join the militia. Safety is relative in the aftermath of societal collapse. The mountain town may have avoided the worst of the atomic blasts, but danger still surrounds unstable people, starvation, cold, disease… and something or someone creeping about late at night, stalking the most vulnerable among them.

Eight months ago, the skies burned. Harper Cody’s life in the town of Evergreen is far from the comfortable suburban existence she enjoyed growing up. The urge to survive hardens all, even the sweetest girl in her class. Safety is difficult to find, but she makes her own with Dad’s shotgun. The approach of her eighteenth birthday rips open the emotional scab she’d built over her most painful memories. She mourns the ashes of a future that can no longer be, believing the world no longer has any place for happiness. Despite her sorrow, she remains determined to protect her little sister and two adopted siblings. Nuclear autumn threatens the crops, lake fish carry the threat of radiation, and the town’s canned goods are nearly gone. Food is scarce, but the people of Evergreen just might make it if luck is with them. Unfortunately, they aren’t the only ones willing to kill for survival, and a large, verdant farm makes for a tempting target. School may be a thing of the past for Harper, but she’s learning that the hardest part of nuclear war is surviving it.

Ten months after civilization burned in a rain of nuclear fire, Harper Cody faces a situation scarier than shooting bad guys—having hope. The people of Evergreen try their best to cling to the modern world, but life inexorably slides toward a society resembling the Wild West. With each passing week, supplies of modern goods dry up, forcing people to adapt, improvise, and re-learn old ways of doing things. Harper’s feelings for Logan slip into frightening territory, but at least her little sister appears to have coped with her trauma. Madison doesn’t even grumble about having to work on the farm over summer break. But the war isn’t done with her yet. Right as Harper begins to hope the future might not be so bad, the nuclear wasteland proves even the most innocent looking things can kill her.

Civilization took thousands of years to build and only hours to destroy. One year after the bombs fell, the proverbial dust has settled, but real dust remains a lingering haze in the sky. The town of Evergreen has evolved from a group of stunned survivors to a passable attempt at civilization, far from the crazy pace of her old life. She has time to breathe… and time to think about how many ways someone could die: starvation, radioactive fallout, gangs—or even a dirty splinter. Harper is determined to go on. After all, humanity survived the Old West. Alas, she’s going to need more than hope to survive. Being on the Militia makes her a target for Mother Nature’s cruel talons, power-drunk survivalists, and even the very citizens she protects. Little, especially living to see tomorrow, is certain, but Harper Cody is sure of one thing: The future will only be as good as she helps make it.

It’s the end of the world as she knew it, but Harper Cody feels fine. Mostly. Surviving after nuclear bombardment isn’t all bad. Alarm clocks aren’t a thing anymore. No one gets stuck in traffic on their way to a soul-draining nine-to-five, their food’s not full of sugar and preservatives, and she got out of having to take the SATs. Constant hypervigilance, having to carry a gun everywhere she goes, and the fear that any small injury could turn fatal is a small price to pay. While Evergreen has become an oasis of sanity in a fractured world, it’s not without problems. Danger is out there, watching and waiting for the perfect time to strike. Idiots and gangs, she can handle, but not everything that can kill her is so obvious. The deadliest hazards can’t be seen at all—and one of them is much closer than she imagined.