Seven years ago as the economy collapsed amidst ever more serious climate disasters, Ethan Casey went into a billionaire's survival bunker in the wilds of Alberta. Now suspecting his boss is not telling the bunker's staff the truth, Ethan sneaks out to learn if the world is really in chaos. He meets forest ranger Jules Martell, who tells him the world is changed but is rebuilding, and that he and everyone in the bunker would be welcome in the nearby town of Goose Lodge.
Ethan returns to the bunker to tell the others the truth, prompting many of them to leave with him. Ethan had to go back to bring the others out, but he had to return to Goose Lodge to find Jules again. This time, he knows he will never return to that hole in the ground. Jules becomes Ethan's guide to the town, and the way they live there, introducing him to strange ideas Ethan must learn to embrace. As they grow closer Ethan also becomes a forest ranger, and he and Jules act as liaisons to the bunker, tasked with persuading the last holdouts to leave. Soon only Ethan's old boss, Sinclair, remains stubbornly locked in, with a vault of gold and gems, and dwindling food supplies.
Spending time alone in the forest with Jules feels like all Ethan needs to make him happy. But the forest holds secrets and sadness for Jules, and the town is not the perfect utopia Ethan thought at first. And Sinclair, alone in the bunker, is growing ever more afraid and bitter, and determined to ruin the happiness Ethan has found with Jules.
