In wake of the sudden collapse of society, the world is in unrest as an asteroid known as the Catalyst barrels toward Earth. Less than three years away, the United Nations' solution of deflecting the rock has been sabotaged by young energy tycoon Yuri Antonov and his henchwoman Viktoriya Markovic-who see the asteroid as an opportunity for Yuri's alternative-energy mining operation. Political and social elite have retreated to massive underground bunkers, hoping to wait out the impending doom that the Catalyst is sure to bring. Meanwhile, a sinister plan to inoculate the survivors is being cooked up by United States president Bernard O'Hare and his cronies, who are bent on controlling humanity via the chemical balances in their brains. Carson Baxter and Brody Jenkins's attempt to signal an extraterrestrial civilization to garner help in thwarting the asteroid has been a success, leading to the reception of a bizarre message neither can interpret. NASA astrophysicist Dr. Jennifer McPherson has joined the pair, having recently been subjected to the traumatizing loss of her mother, Nina, in the mid of Earth's societal collapse. The trio is now well on their way toward their own bunker in Atlanta, Georgia, led by ex-special forces operatives Jacob Sellars and Brent Smith-who have launched a resistance to combat O'Hare's evil regime. Chaos and rampage has penetrated every corner of the world, and humanity's only hope rests upon an unknown marketing consultant who is crazy enough to dream up the most unlikely of solutions. Will these ETs be friendly? What will happen as mankind continues the fight for continuity? Only time will tell.