Draco incendia trycophyton, a fungal spore commonly known as Dragonscale, causes its victims to smoke and ultimately burst into flames. The spore is passed in the smoke generated by the carriers. This plague is decimating the world, breaking down social order. Hospitals, the places where most of us seek answers, treatment, and cure, were either rounding up victims and quarantining them to remote locations resembling concentration camps, or entire hospitals are burning down due to large numbers of patients going up in flames. Dragonscale appears on its victims as a beautiful black and golden tattooing, even making their eyes appear golden. Cities, and even thousands of square miles are raging with out-of-control fires.

In the midst of this fearful landscape, we meet Harper Grayson, a caring nurse in New Hampshire, in the mold of Mary Poppins, who works as a school nurse until the school is closed, then works at the local hospital, where she sees a great need for her selfless, fearless care. Her husband, Jakob, starts to show signs of the fear and paranoia which will later emerge fully formed and lethally targeting Harper herself. During their tender evening together, Harper becomes pregnant. When Harper realizes that she has the dragonscale, her marriage is fractured, as she sees the relationship is not at all what she thought it was. She is given the chance to escape her suddenly dangerous husband by a strange figure, a man dressed as a fireman who appears to have the ability to control and concentrate the flame of dragonscale, using it as a sort of super hero figure’s super power.

This story spools out as Harper is allowed to live at a secret conclave of other dragonscale survivors, learning to control the disease, and avoid discovery by rabid bands of vigilantes seeking to kill all with the disease. The survivors in the camp go through increasingly dangerous, neurotic interactions, posing a challenge for Harper to meet her goal of bringing her baby to a healthy, safe birth, and find a safe place to care for him. Her relationship with the enigmatic Fireman develops, their fates becoming intertwined. Hill knows how to tell an exciting survival story, at turns horrific and hilarious. He has a real talent for taking the reader through this post-apocalyptic landscape, with believable characters, and unpredictable action. Considering his dad is a well-known, best-selling, talented story teller himself (Stephen King), it must run in the family. Check out this story, and keep an eye on this rising star.