Ten years after the end of oil, no one has the bullets left to shoot at Dev and Sierra or their neighbors. But the climate seems determined to kill them with drought and relentless heat. As the irreplaceable technologies of the civilized world break down, survival becomes more and more of a struggle—and more of an imperative, as they have a daughter, Zoe, to care for now.

When a battered family escaping a terrible situation moves in down the hill at their grain farm, the neighbors have a tough choice to make. Do they drive the strangers away, doing what is expedient? Or do they lend them a helping hand? The first choice won't guarantee their survival, but the second choice will cost them the last shreds of their humanity and Zoe her innocent trust in her family.