Do ordinary people have what it takes to survive in a grid-down world? Do you?

When the power mysteriously goes out across the country, society does not instantly break down. Transportation does. Most people simply wait for things to get better. Martin thinks trouble is coming. His plan B is to walk the 50 miles from Boston to his home in New Hampshire. His plan B must be revised, however. He did not plan on meeting Susan.

No one really knows why the power grid failed. To the man in the street, the cause really does not matter. Guided by how past disaster events played out and his own intuition that things could get worse, Martin decides it is better to walk home than stay in the city and wait. Society does not collapse into instant mayhem. Almost everyone assumes “normal" will return soon. Nevertheless, some people take inconvenience well. Tempers flair, and troubles develop. Opportunistic criminals take advantage of the outage to strike. The government tries to "manage" things in confusing and obstructive ways, helping almost no one.

Martin and Susan must be resourceful to navigate the many troubles that arise as they travel north.

Listeners have enjoyed how real the characters are. They are average, imperfect people doing the best they can: not gung-ho super preppers with all the right gadgets or military Rambo types. The realism of the setting and the characters make it easy for listeners to imagine themselves in the scenario.