Cover: Original painting by John Dormer; nuclear update by Renee Kildow.
Fallout
A compromised American President, coerced by a secret cabal of advisors, launches a sneak atomic attack on China, Russia and North Korea.
What could possibly go wrong with that?
“Fallout” tracks the horrendous one-day war, examines its aftermath. “Fallout” is based on a real American plan for a preemptive nuclear war. “Fallout” is also a love story.
It’s 1957. 200 atomic bombs are launched from American jet fighters, striking targets throughout the three countries simultaneously. Millions die.
One of the pilots, Captain Albert Meadows, returns to Dallas, Texas, and finds a pariah nation.
Widespread radiation clouds the globe. The world’s economies sink.
Meadows learns his long-time girlfriend is no longer of interest. Instead, he finds meaningful romance with the unlikeliest of lovers:
Samantha Crossley, a translator for the U.S. State Department, is a victim of the bombing. She is badly damaged and scarred when an atomic bomb hits Moscow while the Secretary of State is infamously meeting with the Soviet Premier. Samantha becomes a global icon, leading a campaign for an end to all wars.
The world gradually recovers from the widespread devastation. Economies gain, the threat of a Nuclear Autumn recedes.
But recovery proves elusive.