Long Shot

An "accidental" nuclear war leaves the Northern Hemisphere in chaos. A small nation under attack from the Russian Socialist Republics (RSR) used a secret arsenal of nuclear weapons to destroy the forces attacking it, along with a number of Russian cities, including Moscow. In the chaos following the attack, the Russians assumed that NATO states launched the attack or supplied the weapons. The most senior military leader ordered nuclear retaliation against all NATO nations, including the U.S.A.
Nearly all of the major cities on both sides of the resulting nuclear war were destroyed, with deaths and casualties numbering in the billions.
The surviving American leadership wants the Russian who started it to pay, and stop any chance that the Russians can continue the war. There's a problem, though. With most of Europe and nearly all of the United States destroyed, only the U.S. Navy has the forces with the reach to complete the mission. American and allied air bases are gone, even satellites have been disabled or destroyed. Even for the Navy, confined to a few surviving deep water ports, the operation is a long shot. Aircraft carriers can get close to the target, but it will take long-range aircraft controlling high-flying drones to find and destroy. Will the gamble work?