In her debut, Edan Lepucki has imagined a disturbing vision of a nation devastated by natural disasters, whose people struggle to survive and compete in an increasingly segregated caste system. A crumbling Los Angeles has become a dangerous ghetto for the poor and disenfranchised as wealthier folks isolate themselves in resource-rich suburban "Communities." Cal and Frida, husband and wife, have each suffered personal tragedy: Frida lost her brother, Micah, in a suicide bombing, and Cal's parents died in one of the severe snowstorms rocking the Midwest. Together, they escape to the wilderness north of L.A. to live off the land in seclusion.
They meet and forge a friendship with the Millers, who harbor secrets of their own and warn Cal and Frida against seeking companionship with others. After the Millers die in an apparent suicide and Frida becomes pregnant, the couple decides to find safety with other survivors. At a resource-rich commune known as "The Land," they are shocked to learn that Frida's brother Micah is very much alive and the acting leader. But Cal and Frida uncover darkness beneath the Land's perfect façade that has grave implications for their family's future--and the world's.
Lepucki's narrative races furiously to reach the idyllic lure of utopia only to slow as the complexities of the new world order reveal themselves. Her characters are wistful, selfish and morally challenged in their desperation and in their pursuits of idealistic truth. The result is lush, layered sensations that peel back in stark black and white until Lepucki's vision reaches its Technicolor pinnacle. --Nancy Powell, freelance writer and technical consultant