When a major earthquake hits California, trapping seventeen-year-old Ruby with Charlie, a near-stranger, in a laundromat, they struggle to stay alive and hopeful with only memories and each other's voices to sustain them.

"Meredith White was one of Hollywood's most recognizable faces. But a personal tragedy cut her acting career short and alienated her from her family. For the last fifteen years, Meredith has been living alone in San Francisco with two trusted caretakers. Then, on a muggy late summer day, a massive earthquake strikes Northern California, plunging the Bay Area into chaos. Without a moment's hesitation, Meredith invites her stunned and shaken neighbors...

Joining troops to deliver aid to an earthquake-decimated region of Afghanistan, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Parson and his interpreter, Sergeant Major Sophia Gold, confront a Taliban splinter group that is shooting aid workers and everyone who accepts help.