After fourteen-year-old Ben argues with his family, he goes to their bomb shelter, expecting his family will turn up any day to fetch him. However, his wait turns to weeks and when Ben finally emerges he finds that the world is a very different place. Green bodies litter the road, he finds references to the Last Official Day, and realises that he is alone. Living a hand-to-mouth existence and writing in his diary for company, Ben notices strange markings on the road, on fences and on his house. Someone else is alive! When this group of young survivors contacts him, Ben feels uneasy. Conditions for his entry into the group are defined and several children within the group are guarded in the way they speak to Ben. However, after becoming closer to two group members they decide to escape, as they do not like the direction the leaders are taking. One of Ben s new friends knows something that could cost him his life and the girl has been selected for a breeding program, as girls are in short supply. Written in the form of concise journal entries, this terrifying thriller by established author June Colbert is a timely warning about where our world is heading.