Colonel John Matherson retired from the military to care for his wife in her battle against cancer. After she passed, he raises his daughters in Black Mountain, North Carolina, just outside of Asheville and teaches at the local college.

His quiet life is upended when every electronic device stops working, a scenario he studied in the military. Someone, he suspects, has exploded a nuclear weapon high above the United States causing an electromagnetic pulse. Since an EMP renders useless any device with electronics, virtually all aspects of modern life cease.

With his background, John can foresee the horrors to come and advises the town leaders on the few options they have. Within days, starvation, disease, and violence will darken their doors. As they come to realize that the EMP has rendered virtually all of North America powerless, they realize no rescue is coming.

One Second After is the first of a four-book series and focuses on the first year after electricity is gone when only a very few will survive.