Two years have passed since mankind faced extinction: Two cousins are leaving the protection of their underground bunker for the first time, after a cataclysmic war and unrelenting disease ravaged the earth. On the other side of North America, a young survivalist is leaving the seclusion of his cabin deep in the woods, traveling with his aging canine companion, Winston. For individual reasons, these men are traveling east, where the fragmented lives of a small number of survivors will soon be decided by the choices of a corrupt few. Although they are not yet aware, the strength that resides inside them will soon be tested, and destiny will call for their fates to be forever intertwined.

When civilization collapsed, evil rose to power: In the deep recesses of solitary confinement, a wickedness emerges to defile what is left of humanity. With society coming to its knees, the opportunity is right for a terrible army to claim the world as their own, and inflict upon it the same pain they received in life. The After War series continues. This is the story of Karl Metzger. "It is said that even a villain is the hero of their own story. And everyone does have a story ... In the end, that's what we all are—stories, little stories that build to bigger stories, that make up the epic of a lifetime." - Manhattan Book Review Although Butcher Rising is the second novel in The After War series, they can be read independently of each other if desired. Both books work as standalone novels.

The world ends. War doesn't: Those left alive following the unrelenting disease, and the war which reduced whole cities to radioactive rubble, were faced with the oppressive task of rebuilding society. From behind tall fences and guard towers, the colonies of Alice and Hightown were established, and a sense of normalcy prevailed. But now, a corrupt band of mercenaries, once thought to be extinguished, present their greatest threat yet to the fate of the colonies and humanity at large. Fueled by personal desire, and the need to survive at all costs, these mercenaries won’t stop until the colonies have fallen and the citizens are all annihilated. This is the final war.