The modern world has vanished, the human race is on the verge of extinction; Mother Nature is firmly back in charge. A desperate band of survivors seeks out a place of possible safety, The Steading, where they hope to carve out a new life. However, simply staying hidden is not enough. It is a battle for survival in a world which is indifferent to their plight. Will mistakes of the past be repeated? Can this remnant of humanity find a different path and save itself?

This gentle tale is set in a world similar to our own, with various Nordic and Celtic influences, at some unspecified ‘post-modern’ point in the future. Society as we know it has long since vanished. The natural world has fully reasserted itself, leaving a few isolated pockets of human existence, teetering on the verge of extinction. Birth rates are very low and infant mortality very high; the cause is unclear. Remaining settlements are slowly withering out of existence.

The story is told as if it is being recounted around a campfire. It is a tale of new beginnings, which follows a small group as they carve out a new life. The story is intrinsically part guide to survival and the basics of homesteading, a blend of fiction and non-fiction. This unusual style of storytelling reflects the author’s preferred means of communication as an autistic person. The tale sets out a more positive possibility for a future where rampant and destructive ‘modernity’ has vanished.

With a natural check on the human population, Earth has become a properly functioning ecosystem and is mostly a near Eden. This book is therefore a somewhat idealised best-case scenario, a #cosyapocalypse. Book two, The Fallen, is its counterpart! Listeners may recognise influences for some locations in the story, loosely based around the breathtaking landscapes of Snowdonia and beyond, the Author’s home in North Wales.