No one can open the box. Three hundred years after the fall of civilization, scavengers Sophie and Markus uncover a sealed, translucent box buried deep in the ruins of The Before. What’s inside might hold answers to the apocalyptic origins of The After and a path to a safer future—if it can be opened. Hoping for help, they set out for the faraway City where a reclusive historian may have the knowledge they need. The trek takes them across the cratered plain, bombed almost into oblivion, and infested with unstoppable humanoid machines hungry for human flesh. When a religious fanatic derails their mission, Sophie and the box disappear. Markus enlists unexpected allies to help find her, pushing into the heart of his worst fears and opening bitter wounds and testing loyalties. What’s in the box may lead to a better future—but it just might cost them each other.