In the midst of an unprecedented power outage in New York City, two families attempt to live under one roof in a vacation home on Long Island. Though they somehow have electricity, they are without internet or cell service, leaving them effectively cut off from the rest of the world. The fast-paced narrative, filled with unsettling scenes of normalcy amid chaos, wrestles with more than just a burgeoning apocalypse. Author Rumaan Alam moves between the characters’ voices to reveal their innermost thoughts on race, privilege and parenthood as strange events begin to mount. The novel, which will be made into a Netflix film starring Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington, asks both timeless and eerily relevant questions about how we handle catastrophes outside our control.