Luke Vs. the Nuke

In the aftermath of war, Corporal Luke Bowen, US army, survived the worldwide conflict between Eastern and Western cultures. He was present when the most horrible scenes played out. Near the end of the war, the United States dropped a tactical nuclear bomb close to its own lines to stop an enemy suicide attack.Somehow, he made it out of the conflict, but at a substantial cost. Recovering in a field hospital, he discovered that his injuries, although life–changing, were not as devastating as those around him affected by the nuclear radiation.

After rehabilitation, Luke chose the army as a career. No longer capable of serving in the infantry, he was assigned a desk job in the new frontier of America. During the war, the United States also suffered several nuclear strikes. Not only did America have to manage the ravages of war but it also had to deal with a separatist movement brewing in the central states.

Luke's life takes several twists and turns. He falls in love as he becomes embroiled in the tensions in the Midwest. During that time, he was accused of violating base rules. Busted in rank, he was removed from his desk job.Cleared of charges against him, Luke inspects border towns controlled by the suspected breakaway organization. On a mission in Ohio, Luke got the real picture of what was happening. As the situation became more serious, Luke was given one more opportunity. He would accompany a group of negotiators to the separatist stronghold in St. Louis.

With the US army moving west to crush the uprising and with negotiations breaking down, the separatists had one last of card to play. They were about to unleash smuggled nuclear weapons on the army.Would the United States have to use nuclear weapons in retaliation? Again, in the shadow of a nuclear strike, Luke had to find a way to survive.

-- Frederick Carpenter