This story takes place in Fort Repose where the wounded and radioactive people live and try to survive. Randy Brags a received officer takes charge of the city, and bring together the city once more. During the summer, the stranded city is trying to survive a brief shortage of fish while Randy solves a crisis involving a lack of salt. He combs the diary kept by his ancestor, who founded the town, and finds a location to a nearby pool with a plentiful supply of salt. At the end of the story a helicopter lands, carrying Paul Hart, a military man and friend of Randy's from before the war. He tells them that the country is still trying to restore basic services, and that centuries may pass before the contaminated regions become clean. He also confirms that Mark died in the war, meaning that Helen is free to marry Dan. He offers to take them out of Fort Repose, but they all prefer to remain in the community they have rebuilt.
             In this story, all hell brakes lose when a missile is launch from the Soviet Union. The United States is frightened, but the people in Fort Repose feel the heat and strength of the war when a deadly radioactive missile is bombed. In this story the Russians are painted as villains, their aggression paves the way for the conflict, and they fire the first nuclear missiles. There is also a role of chance in warfare, showing how a mistake by a foolhardy American pilot provides the beginning of entire world changing.
             In Washington, all of the people in Congress did not have any time to escape before the bombs fell. As a result of this, the government was turned over to the rest of the country, resulting in mass cause. In Fort Repose almost immediately there are accidents and dead bodies on the highway, escaped prisoners wandering around with guns, and mobs in the stores and gas stations. The novel also express's how an individual reacts to a shift in the way the city works. Randy rises to the occasi
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