**Just because the world ended once doesn't mean it won't happen again.** A semblance of civilization has returned in the aftermath of the apocalypse, but do the fractured communities represent beacons of hope for the future, or powder kegs ready to explode? Traumatized by the haunting images of their troubled pasts, the shattered remnants of society distract themselves with debauchery and death, blind to a new menace that threatens to devour them all as an entire settlement's population vanishes overnight. Meanwhile, an unearthed shadow gathers in the west, murderous marauders raid the farm belt and cutthroat pirates torment the coast as alliances shift in the scramble for safety. The rich and the reckless, the dutiful and the depraved, all fight for what little remains while Treading On Ashes. *This book is intended for readers aged 18 and above due to adult language and mature themes.*