The Weight of What Remains

About this book

In the sprawling Dust Belt of the former American Midwest, a twenty-year mega-drought has collapsed society into isolated holdfasts. For nineteen years, a fragile desert community has thrived above a pristine aquifer, bound together by the foundational myth that their founders did whatever was necessary to survive. But when a massive alkaline dust storm poisons the modern settlement's surface cisterns, survival is once again on a knife's edge. Young scavenger Lila, digging through the ruins of an abandoned university to find a solution, unearths buried evidence of a dark cover-up from the town's chaotic third year. The discovery forces an aging farmer, a guilt-ridden archivist, and an exiled tinkerer to finally confront the deadly choice they made during the worst of the drought. As Lila's uncompromising idealism clashes with the heavy compromises of her elders, the entire settlement is pushed to a breaking point. Through a painful unraveling of history, the survivors must learn that while relationships can endure terrible choices, they are forever altered by them.

Book details

Genres:

Drama, Post-Apocalyptic Fiction, Literary Fiction

Language:

en

Published:

2026-04-15

Content rating:

PG-13