Inevitable

James Woodward is living his dream life—a nice house, a successful career, and the love of his life—until an act of civil disobedience traps him in the grip of an ever-expanding authoritarian frenzy since lower-Manhattan was turned to ash. During the administration of the 53rd President of the United States, a nuclear device has devastated Manhattan and leaves the nation in a downward spiral. A centuries-old cabal pulls the levers of the global machine; they are the man behind the curtain in every government on Earth, with wealth so vast that few know of their existence. And yet, everyone makes mistakes. Even the most powerful. Their intent was to produce a minor adjustment in the nation's direction. It was to place a small device aboard a departing cargo ship to be detonated off the East Coast. Wrong ship. Oops. In this draconian reality, with millions of nuclear refugees, James narrowly avoids relocation to a work camp. Nonetheless, he loses everything: Home, career, and love. Blacklisted, he is forced to live on the margins. He finds an escape when a not so anonymous suggestion leads him to a group run by billionaire Stan Lincoln, who is determined to arrest America's slow descent into fascism. But when Stan is assassinated, James is forced to take the reins. Soon it is clear that the group is caught between unknown allies and others wanting their efforts destroyed. After a bloodbath at a work camp, James and his associates are transported to Washington, D.C. to seek peaceful solutions. Instead, they stand between two competing factions of the military who face off at the foot of the Washington Monument. Now face to face with his benefactors, James is shepherded into the Oval Office to begin anew.