In this near-future, novel, retired lawyer-turned-professor Willoughby Burns finds himself trying to survive against hunger and deadly threats in southern Louisiana. takes place in an America ravaged by natural disasters, lack of petroleum, plagues, and terrorism. What is left of the United States is controlled by martial law. Life itself becomes primitive and favors those who can grow their own food or handle firearms. Will befriends US General Merski stationed in Baton Rouge, LA, and founds a farming community of fifty farms on the eastern bank of the Mississippi river due south of downtown Baton Rouge. General Merski enlists Will as a civilian commissary officer, in charge of carrying out errands for his troops without arousing suspicion. Readers join Will on his travels through Louisiana and Texas, as he seeks to establish a sense of order and peace in the south.