An Uncertain Path

Truman Gates does not prepare for abstractions.

And earhquakes are an abstraction, the big one anyway. As a resident of San Francisco, Gates knows about earthquakes. He's experienced them. But like most of his neighbors, he views warnings about the "big one" as click bait. And Gates will not bite..

On a windy Fall afternoon in San Francisco, Gates gets a reality check. His house, his city and the state are rocked by the region's largest earthquake in 150 years. His home is destroyed. Buildings and freeways collapse. Fires break out. A metropolitan area of seven million people loses its water, electricity, and gas connections. It all happens in a hearbeat. And it turns out, nobody is prepared.

Gates is alone. His wife is out of town. His daughter is across town, in an unreinforced masonry building. As he searches to make connections, scarcity and disease begin to peel away the veneer of civilization. To keep his familly safe, Gates must make choices that challenge his morality and his mortality.

Escape.becomes an odyssey that equires resourcefulness and cunning.

Survival, Gates learns, requires much more.