As the power outage continues, the Brandings struggle to bring their neighborhood together into a functioning community where everyone helps each other make their homes ready for winter, and fight the crime that is running rampant among them. An era unlike any in modern civilization is descending, one without lights, electronics, running water, or automobiles. As a global blackout lengthens into months, the neighbors of Oak Hollow grapple with a chilling realization: the power may never return. Survival has become a lifestyle. When two young thieves break into the Brannings ́home and clean out the food in their pantry, Jeff Branning tracks them to a filthy apartment and discovers a family of children living alone, stealing to stay alive. Where is their mother? The search for answers uncovers a trail of desperation and murder . . . and for the Brannings, a powerful new purpose that can transform their entire community-and above all, themselves.