Separated from their parents, eight kids must survive a nuclear blast that destroys their city. They couldn't be more different: Liam Harper and his sister Lilly, who has Down's Syndrome, are outsiders who are new to public schools. Mysterious Amaranth Jones doesn't have parents; she lives in a group home. Nate and Nester Bartlett are half-brothers who don't like each other much. Rod Wasserman is a prankster and bully who has made Liam's life as a new kid miserable. His girlfriend, Amy Yamamoto, is popular cheerleader who doesn't seem to care for much beyond her hair and her makeup. And Elise Gomez is only seven and barely speaks English. Tumbling into a bomb shelter called "The Hole" beneath Liam's house, the group face injury, deprivation and their dislike for each other. When the food runs out, they have no choice but to emerge, facing the devastation of the world above. In order to escape the fallout, they must put aside their differences and walk 200 miles to a mountain cabin, where they hope they will be safe. This is the first book of The Doomsday Kids series.