Description

Five years after the worst plague in human history, Jacob Trimble is still the leader of the Cumberland Community in La Follette Tennessee. The people under his care have done well, but Jacob has been in a dark place since the death of Melody Barstow at the hands of Casey Johnston, the boy known as the Marauder.

After that, he became withdrawn and controlling. He is unwilling to share control of the community's destiny, to share all the information he possesses with the community's council -- to share his life and love. Although Jacob believes he has come to fear nothing anymore, he soon learns that is not true. Fear returns with attacks on the community, this time from an unknown enemy.

Unusual events plague the peace that had settled over La Follette after the last challenge: a mysterious death, a fire in an unoccupied house, sabotaged electrical lines. When a woman is raped by an unknown assailant, Jacob takes actions that put him on a path that will decide the fate of the people under his care; a path that may lead to war.