Jericho Rose

The story follows on from the end of Aftershocks. Lander leaves Lake Manor and is chased by dogs but escapes.

Adam has a plan is to divide the plague survivors into geographically separate pods to control any resurgence of the infection. Another effect of the virus is mass infertility and he is concerned that if the situation becomes widely known it will cause panic. He makes a video showing some of the Nightingales holding dolls which look like new-born babies and intends to circulate this to create the impression that things are normal.

Lander meets Steve and Chrissie. Chrissie believes the infection was sent by God to punish humankind for its wickedness and means to start a crusade.

Lander is arrested for vagrancy and sent to a pod. Lander is made to set up a new internet, which will be heavily policed by the government.

Adam asks Magda to inspect some research he has commissioned to overcome mass infertility by creating hybrid foetuses of humans and bonobo apes. Magda goes and is horrified by what she sees.

Lander finds the government is increasingly dictatorial. He locates others who share his view and sets up an underground means of communicating with them on the back of the new internet. One contact uses the handle REG.

Lander learns about Chrissie’s crusade and goes to one of their meetings. Magda attends too.

The rally is broken up by government agents. Steve is injured and Chrissie is taken away. Lander is hurt, and rescued by a girl from the band, who takes him to the Franklins, another of the women’s groups.

Magda manages to get Steve to hospital. In the recovery room she’s joined by Adam. He says that Steve got what he deserved by arranging an illegal meeting. They row again and Magda leaves. When she returns Adam has gone and Steve is dead.

At the Franklins, Lander meets REG, who turns out to be called Rachel. He finds her very attractive and is immediately smitten. She tells him that the Franklins have developed a vaccine against the infection, and that she is to be a guinea pig. Lander says he will volunteer too. They go to Paradise Farm. During the days that follow they fall in love, against a background of tension and anxiety while they wait to see if the vaccine works.

Magda is arrested and accused of killing Steve. The magistrate finds her guilty and sentences her to a long term in prison. Adam offers a deal; she’ll be released if she agrees to be a host mother in the bonobo experiments. Magda is appalled but agrees. She is prepared for the implant. In the middle of the night there’s a fire, caused by the Drifters, who rescue her and escape.

Back at Paradise Farm the vaccine has worked. Lander and Rachel return to the Franklins, where they find that Magda, the Drifter boy and many of the Nightingales have also gathered and become the hub of a resistance. They arrange a meeting with Adam, where they demand the replacement...