Calico Hill

What does it mean to be human in a world without death? In the year 2330, the fractured remnants of the United States are dominated by warring factions, separated by towering concrete walls. The technology-worshiping Coasters hoard resources, leaving the Midlanders to scrape by in the desolate heartland of middle America, where dwindling crops, decaying infrastructure, and violent storms are a daily menace. Twenty-one-year-old Theo Rousseau, an Oklahoma farm boy, has pulled off an audacious heist, stealing critical schematics from the Coastal capital. His goal: to build a machine in the Midlands that can cheat death itself, hoping to save his dying father, the chief engineer who maintains the Midlands' failing agricultural equipment. But Theo's mission puts him in the crosshairs of the Kaiphers, ruthless bounty hunters who will stop at nothing to maintain the corrupt Coastal society's grip on power. As he races against time and evades his relentless pursuers, Theo stumbles upon a mysterious world beyond the Coastal walls, a place that defies the natural order and challenges the very notion of life and death. With every step closer to home, Theo unravels a truth that shakes the very foundation of his world, revealing that life in the Midlands is not what it seemed.