Jim Powell is convinced that his presence in the valley is putting his friends and family in danger. Hoping to buy them some time, he increases the security at his home, then sets off on a trip to allow the situation in his community to cool off. As much as he hates the idea, he also intends to scout out a location to fall back to if his people get driven from their homes. Frustrated by the constant tension and violence, his best friend, Lloyd, joins him.

It's been around nine long months since the United States spiraled into chaos due to a cascading systems failure. From the recesses of a fractured government comes a plan to restore order and rescue what remains of the population. The first step comes with restoring power. But what if having access to electricity came at such a price that many - like Jim Powell, his friends, and his neighbors - would rather face a future in the dark.  

In this fifth installment in The Borrowed World Series, human resources manager Alice Watkins is finally making it home. In her journey across Virginia, she experiences a country disintegrating and collapsing in on itself in the wake of a nationwide terror attack. Her trip home is agonizing; her experiences indescribable.

When newcomers arrive in Conor Maguire's territory, they bring word of an enemy approaching from the north. They wear military uniforms, carry military weapons, and drive military trucks. Like a plaque of locusts, they sweep through every town in their path and pick it clean. In their wake, they leave ashes and atrocity. When it appears this enemy is on a collision course with their community, Conor must build an army to intercept them. This is no easy task since his daughter's abrasive manner has divided the community. Their hasty alliance will be tested.

In the Borrowed World Series, America is brought to its knees by coordinated terror attacks against the infrastructure. After spending weeks walking across a violent and horrific landscape to reach his family, Jim Powell hoped they could weather this storm on their secluded Appalachian farm. They had prepared for this. They had armed for this. They could live without power and fuel. What happens, though, when the same qualities that drew Jim to his isolated valley begin to attract another armed group looking for a place to hide from the unrest of a starving nation?

While just a few days have passed since the initial attack, the group finds that its country is quickly descending into a vicious, chaotic landscape where nothing comes easy. While they fight to close the distance between them and their loved ones, they cannot avoid the steadily growing number of people who have realized that they can get away with whatever they want in a world where there are no longer any legal consequences for their actions.

Rose Winter has enough problems. With a marriage going down the tubes and a dreaded anniversary party on the horizon, the last thing she needs is the zombie apocalypse. She wanted to get drunk and sing karaoke, not murder her undead neighbors. It’s clear the party’s over, however, now Rose has more problems - a missing husband, an overbearing houseguest, and keeping her family alive.  

In a night of devastating terror, ISIS operatives have unleashed a coordinated attack on America's infrastructure. With thousands of trapped travelers and scarce law enforcement, the miles between Jim Powell and his family become a brutal gauntlet where the rules of civilized society no longer apply. As Jim puts his years of preparation and planning to the test, he is forced to ask himself if he has what it takes to make it home. Does he have the strength - the brutality - required to meet this new world toe-to-toe?

Conor Maguire nearly lost his daughter Barb when she was three years old, injured by the drunk driver that killed his wife. When the justice system failed him, Conor, the son and grandson of IRA bombers, retaliated against the driver in dramatic and gruesome fashion. For over 25 years, Conor designed and built custom weapons of death and destruction at his compound in the mountains of Virginia. Then a series of devastating terror attacks brought down the United States. Conor and Barb assumed they were safe in their secure compound. Then Barb was kidnapped.

A new mission. An old rival. The powerful secret that binds them. Since the U.S. collapsed into chaos, Conor Maguire has fought to keep his family and friends safe, turning away attackers who threatened their community, seeking to live off the spoils of theft and murder. Fortunately, Conor is no stranger to fighting. In fact it’s his job. He’s an old-school assassin. When Conor and his partner reach their target they find that all is not as it seems. One small job, killing a shady financier, quickly becomes something larger.

Conor Maguire and his daughter, Barb, planned to weather the apocalypse by keeping to themselves, hidden from the world in their compound deep in the Appalachian Mountains. Their approach failed, allowing bad men to get too close and kidnap Barb. After rescuing her in a violent bloodbath that decimated the kidnappers, Conor realized it was time to enlist his community to work together to improve their security. They had better work fast.  

Life at the fortified town of Sanctuary is calm. The people, with their fearless leader at the helm, have created a haven where they can live out their lives in peace and safety. But it hasn’t always been this way. There were battles and losses along the way, and victory usually came at a price. With the younger generation coming into their own, it’s time for Leah to pass on all she has learned over the years. Time to tell the stories of how the world became the way it is...starting with the highwaymen of Andorra.

Robert Hardwick is finally within reach of his family in Damascus, Virginia, but there’s no time to rejoice. His presence at a friend's compound in North Georgia put him on the radar of a corrupt congressman whose only bug-out plan is to take the property of someone better prepared than himself. When the congressman’s effort to take the Georgia compound fails he has little time to find an alternative. He decides to track down the writer from Virginia, a man whose own home should be well-stocked to survive the apocalypse he describes in his books.

Landon Gray, a skillful "ferry pilot" who delivers planes to customers has one final drop in Alabama before Christmas. But when an EMP causes the plane he’s in to crash on the remote, snow-covered mountains of North Carolina, he’s rescued by Beth "Bluebird" Sullivan, who claims to have lived off the grid since she was born. Beth brings him back to an isolated cabin to recover while waiting for her father to come back from the nearby town. When he doesn’t return, Beth grows increasingly worried while Landon struggles with being far from home.

Lucas embarks on a cross-country journey for what's supposed to be a simple vaccine delivery mission, but which quickly devolves into a battle to survive when he and his team become embroiled in a conspiracy so massive it will change the fate of America.