Plot
The novel begins with the president and his advisers discussing how the Soviets are building up their forces for what seems like a nuclear strike.
The relationship between the Soviet and American governments has deteriorated badly. Several months earlier, the war in Afghanistan ended with the Soviets launching mustard gas and other nerve agents at Kabul. India and Pakistan destroy each other in a nuclear war, Iran launches Soviet-supplied nuclear weapons on Iraq, and Soviet and American ships play cat and mouse in the Atlantic. With increased reports of submarines off the West Coast of the United States, every base switches to DEFCON 1.
In New York City, Sister Creep, a homeless woman suffering from depression ever since her baby died during a car accident, wanders the subway system. While she is below ground in a tunnel, the bombs begin to fall. She narrowly escapes with her life.
The story shifts to a black wrestler named Josh Hutchins, popularly dubbed "Black Frankenstein." While traveling to a match in Garden City, Kansas, his vehicle breaks down at a gas station called PawPaw's. Josh meets a nine-year old girl named Sue Wanda (Swan) and her mother. Swan's mother ran away with Swan when her husband used the family's money to buy beer. The cornfields around the station catch fire as missiles begin to fill the sky, and Josh realizes that a war has begun. They take shelter in PawPaw's underground basement.
The story shifts again, this time to Roland Croninger, a thirteen year old boy who likes to call himself "King's Knight" after a role in a favourite game of his. His parents take him to Blue Dome Mountain in Idaho, a civilian fallout shelter. Colonel James "Jimbo" Macklin, meanwhile, a Vietnam veteran, controls the Blue Dome. When the missiles begin falling, they begin to damage Blue Dome Mountain. Macklin falls into a deep hole and, while trapped, is reminded of his experiences in Vietnam.
In New York City, Sister Creep begins to walk around the remains of a New York ravaged by radioactive thunderstorms and tornadoes. She is surprised to see an undamaged building. Entering, she meets "The Man With The Scarlet Eye." She runs away and the building collapses. Sister is soon met by other survivors. They go through a hazardous Holland Tunnel, scrabbling their way to New Jersey.
In Blue Dome Mountain, Roland awakens in the cafeteria and is unable to find his mother and father. He is then picked up by one of Macklin's men who leads Roland to Macklin. Macklin is at the bottom of a deep hole. Roland, with a butcher knife and lighter, begins to climb down to Macklin and finds his arm is stuck in a wall. He is forced to amputate the arm and cauterize it with the lighter. After Macklin's rescue, the pair must then figure out how to break through the area where the food is stored; a large stone is blocking the way. With the help of other survivors, they start to push the boulder over. But the floor below collapses while Roland is trying to find food in the cafeteria. He is then challenged by one of Colonel Macklin's former men, Schorr. Schorr, along with others, has rebelled. Roland slices Schorr's left cheek and fires at the others to drive them away. Later, as they escape the barricaded gym where they have been hiding, Roland, because he has lost his glasses, unknowingly kills his mother and father.
In Kansas, Swan's mother passes away and then PawPaw. They soon discover a gopher hole and start to dig their way out. Josh notices that there was grass growing where Swan slept. He starts to realize that she has special powers. After that they reach the surface.
Sister Creep and her party start to head for Pittsburg, but are interrupted by a man named Doyle Halland. He says he was a priest who prayed for the dying and the dead. Doyle keeps looking at Sister's bag. While Sister goes on a short excursion with another survivor, Doyle brutally murders all the other survivors. Sister and her companion return to find Doyle and the corpses. Doyle then says that he had known her all along and had been following her from New York; he was "The Man With the Scarlet Eye." Sister injures Doyle and escapes.
Back in the Blue Dome, Colonel Macklin, Roland and Warner sleep in the gym. Soon Schorr's men start to pound the door while yelling that they need food or else they will die. But Macklin refuses to help. They start throwing Molotov cocktails at the door and begin to break the door open. As they charge for the food, Roland begins to shoot them and one of them grabs his neck. Unknown to Roland the man was his father and Roland blows off his entire head. A woman steals Roland's gun, but Macklin finds a vent to the outside world. While climbing through the vents, Roland realizes that the woman who stole his weapon was his mother but continues on. They reach the surface and begins to walk.
Meanwhile Josh and Swan reach a town called Sullivan and there they meet Leona Skleton. She hides in her house while her husband, Davy, has a virus and is upstairs. While their Leona makes baths for both of them. Afterwords she tells them that she is a person who tells the future with globs and tarot cards. When Josh falls asleep, Leona tells Swan's future by Tarot cards. She predicts she is going to face The Devil by a card. When Davy dies, Josh digs a grave for him. Afterwards, they make their way to Matheson, a small town away from Sullvian. On their way they stop at the Jaspin farm. Josh discovers that the people in there were brutally murdered. Meanwhile, Swan goes into the cornfield and finds a horse, which she brings with them.
Sister and her last survivor, Artie, begin making their way west. But on the way they are attacked by wolves and are saved by Paul, a mountain man. They follow Paul into the woods to his cabin, where there are more survivors. A few hours in, they keep saying we should "do it." It turns out that they want to go on the radio, searching for a voice. Sister is shocked and slaps Paul saying that he gets a sick pleasure from it, but he says it keeps them from going crazy. They then decide to leave in Paul's truck.
Near Salt Lake, Utah, Colonel Macklin and Roland find Shelia Fontana. She is perfect with no burn marks on her. Roland has sex with her and they make their way toward The Fat Man. In Salt Lake, there are two kinds: Dirtwarts, and Regulars. Dirtwarts country is where Roland and Colonel Macklin live and the Regulars are people with guns, food, water, and other resources. The Fat Man leads them. They go into Regular country and there they meet the Fat Man at his trailer. They have a deal where they get a place and they give him some drugs found in Shelia's bag. The Fat Man's men come to get the couple out. But one of the men kills the couple's baby when they refuse to go. They get settled afterwards. But soon after this, Macklin soaks his arm in the Salt Lake for it to heal. At the same time, The Fat Man calls Roland to his trailer. But the Fat Man puts the drugs into the pepsi that Roland drank and attempts to rape him. But Roland kills him when he burns hit face with a kerosene lamp. Soon after Macklin, Roland, and Shiela take contral of the camp.
Josh and Swan make it to Matheson and find a supermarket with all the lights on and having food. But it was a trap for the insane people from a nearby alslym. There Josh must play a game where he must fight through the market to Swan and Leona. He manage to get through them, but the insane leader decides to kill Swan. But a terrier that was following them attacks him and they escape, but Leona sacfacies herself to them to get some time for Josh and Swan to escape.
 Mass Market Paperback cover | |
| Author | Robert R. McCammon |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Post-apocalyptic novel |
| Publisher | Pocket Books |
| Publication date | 1987 |
| Media type | Print (Mass Market Paperback) |
| Pages | 960 |
| ISBN | 0671741039 |
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