The Dog Stars

In 2035, many years after a devastating flu pandemic almost eradicated humanity, Hig, a former mechanic, lives in Erie, Colorado, with a dog named Jasper, and Bangley, a former Marine turned survivalist. Hig occasionally pilots a small propeller plane into a depopulated Denver to gather supplies of fuel and food. To Bangley's chagrin, Hig also supplies a nearby Mennonite community with food and occasional mechanical repairs.

When two teenage strangers approach, Bangley shoots them dead from his distance look-out point, creating a conflict with the more sympathetic Hig. While flying his propeller plane, Hig picks up a radio signal originating from Grand Junction, Colorado, that suggests human life there. He has picked up this signal multiple times throughout the years since the pandemic, but always quickly lost contact.

While sleeping outside one day, Hig and Jasper encounter a large group trying to ambush their home. The two fight them off until Bangley appears to help them; Jasper is killed.

Heartbroken, Hig decides he must find the source of the Grand Junction radio signal. Bangley, who does not approve of the journey, stays behind in Erie. After experiencing a mechanical failure, Hig lands in a valley where a father and daughter, Pops and Cima, live. The two form an uneasy alliance with Hig, as he repairs his plane and cuts down trees to make a runway. Hig starts a romantic relationship with Cima, who asks him to stay with them.

After their farm is raided in an attack, Hig, Cima, and Pops flee on Hig's plane. They make it to Grand Junction Regional Airport, where the radio operator hesitantly allows them to land and enter their community unarmed. Theirs is the first to arrive in two years.

Upon arrival, the three are uneasy. Darlene, a former flight attendant who is the leader of the community, orders Cima to marry a soldier, due to her previous medical education. As Hig, Cima and Pops escape the airport, they discover the community's cannibalism. As they fly away, they bomb the Grand Junction airport terminal with grenades from the air.

The three fly back to Erie to check on Bangley, where they discover a major attack occurred at the airfield. Bangley managed to take out the over 30 attackers. He is injured but alive, so reluctantly comes with them to the Mennonite community to join an established new settlement there.