When Europe is destroyed in a hellfire of chemical weapons, six teenagers begin an arduous trek to a rumored sanctuary. Along the way, they will learn about the cruelties of survival and the surprising beginnings of this shocking apocalypse.
Adopted brothers Lance and Lucjan are happy to be starting at the same university and already have their own tight group of friends: Ragan, Ellam, CJ, and Leks, all of whom have their own dreams for the future.
This future literally goes up in smoke when the first chemical attack destroys their entire world. The Santeny Six, as they come to be called, are among the few lucky ones who survive the onslaught. Now, with nothing left to hope for, the six teenagers struggle to merely survive. They throw their lot in with soldiers traveling to a refugee camp in Finland, but there is a great deal they still don't know about what triggered the King's War.
Then Lucjan is captured by a mysterious enemy, and Lance will do whatever it takes to rescue his brother, a quest that will take him to the very heart of this chemical Armageddon. Will what he finds there be enough to save them all?