The end of the world begins with a video. It is at first thought to be a movie advertisement. But when a heat wave, a deadly disease, and two storms that knock out the world come about, it is suspected to be something more. With most of the world dead, all 13-year-olds Paige, Xavier, Connor, and Caroline want to do is survive. But that proves to not be so easy. At first, they are on their own. In a stroke of luck, they find a village of survivors, and stay there for a while. But bad luck strikes, and they are forced to leave. They do find another place to stay- the compound of The Circle, the people who brought the disaster about. Unknowing at first, they eventually discover the group's secret- they willingly caused the end of the world. They spy and eventually escape, but their knowledge is something they can't ignore.