Peter Elliott mentions at dinner that an asteroid is on course to hit the moon.

The family watches through a telescope as the asteroid strikes the moon and shifts it closer to Earth.

Reports flood in that massive tsunamis have destroyed coastal cities, including New York, across the country.

Miranda's mother pulls her out of school during a storm and hands her an envelope of cash to stockpile supplies.

Miranda, her mother, Jonny, and Mrs. Nesbitt fight through a chaotic supermarket to fill their van with food and provisions.

Matt arrives home safely from college, bringing relief to the worried family.

The family learns that volcanoes are erupting worldwide, sending ash clouds that are blocking sunlight and threatening crops.

Sammi comes to say goodbye before leaving town permanently with a forty-year-old man named George.

An early killing frost wipes out the family's vegetable garden, threatening their food supply for winter.

Miranda's mother falls and injures her ankle; Miranda rushes to the hospital to find Peter and get help.

Miranda discovers Mrs. Nesbitt has died in her sleep and strips the house of provisions for the family.

The family falls ill with flu; Miranda skis to the hospital and learns Peter has died and no help exists.

The woodstove backfires and fills the house with smoke; Miranda drags her family to safety and clears the air.

Miranda collapses in the snow near City Hall, ready to die, but spots a flyer and finds a food distribution program inside.

A man named Tom drives Miranda home on a snowmobile with four bags of food and promises to return with more.

After an asteroid strikes the moon and shifts it closer to Earth, tsunamis decimate coastal cities and throw the world into chaos. Miranda's mother takes decisive action, pulling her children from school and joining a frantic rush to stockpile food and supplies with their neighbor Mrs. Nesbitt. As volcanoes erupt worldwide and block the sun, the family faces a premature winter with dwindling food, and Miranda watches friends and neighbors disappear one by one. A brutal flu epidemic sweeps the town, killing most of the population including the family doctor Peter, and Miranda alone must nurse her gravely ill family back to health. When food supplies reach a critical low, Miranda makes a desperate trip into town, nearly surrendering to death in the snow, before stumbling upon a city food distribution program. With four bags of food in hand and a promise of more to come, the family sits down to their first full meal in months.

The core catastrophe and the family's fight for survival.

Miranda's father calls to announce his wife Lisa is pregnant and asks Miranda to be the baby's godmother.

Neighbors gather outside with lawn chairs in a festive mood to watch the asteroid approach the moon.

The local news broadcasts tsunami reports and the president makes a statement to the nation.

After unloading all the grocery provisions at home, Miranda's mother breaks down and starts crying.

A school assembly announces that prom is cancelled and all extracurricular activities are suspended.

Megan begins splitting her school lunch sandwich and giving the portions away to other students, refusing to eat.

Miranda and Dan share their first kiss at Miller's Pond.

Miranda leaves a food distribution line to get Dan, and her mother furiously explains that family must come first.

Miranda visits Megan, who tells her not to return because she must let go of all worldly attachments.

Miranda accidentally lets the family cat Horton outside at night and he goes missing for several days.

Miranda's father and Lisa unexpectedly arrive at the house with a minivan filled with food and supplies.

During a family dinner party, Jonny asks if everyone is going to die, and Lisa leaves the room in tears.

The family turns on the stove and discovers the natural gas supply has run out entirely.

The local library announces it is closing for good and invites everyone to take as many books as they want.

Miranda's mother faints from weakness; Miranda checks the pantry and realizes their food will last only a few more weeks.

Before catastrophe strikes, Miranda's father announces a new pregnancy and the family's social world feels ordinary and intact. The mood quickly shifts as tsunami reports air on television and Miranda's mother breaks down after the family returns from a desperate supermarket run. School life deteriorates rapidly, with prom cancelled and Miranda watching her friend Megan give away her food as an act of religious devotion. Miranda finds brief joy in a first kiss with Dan at Miller's Pond, but her mother's sharp rebuke after Miranda prioritizes Dan over a food line signals how survival has rewritten the family's rules. Megan eventually tells Miranda not to visit again, and a rare warm visit from Miranda's father and Lisa briefly restores hope before their departure. Through the long winter, the family loses their gas supply, their library, and finally most of their food, until Miranda's mother faints and the true scale of their desperation becomes impossible to ignore.

The human moments and relationships lost along the way.

Matt calls home late at night with an uneasy feeling about the upcoming moon event.

After the asteroid hits, Miranda notices the moon appears far closer and more ominous, resembling a three-quarter moon.

Miranda's mother tells the family explicitly not to let anyone else know about the provisions stored in their house.

Matt explains to Miranda that their mother is worried there will be no heating oil for winter, so every blanket must be kept.

Miranda secretly devours almost an entire bag of chocolate chips her mother had been saving for Matt's birthday.

Letters from Miranda's father reveal he and Lisa are stranded near the Kansas border, surrounded by refugee camps and vigilantes.

Guards at the hospital force Miranda to beg and wait outside for hours, while Matt arrives moments later and is immediately let in.

Mrs. Nesbitt tells Miranda exactly where to find her belongings and what to do with her body after she dies.

Matt returns from the post office and tells Miranda that both Megan and her mother are on the list of the dead.

Miranda confronts Reverend Marshall and learns he has been eating food provided by his starving, emaciated parishioners.

Miranda goes skating at Miller's Pond and unexpectedly finds her hometown idol, Brandon Erlich, skating there.

A blizzard traps Matt in town; Miranda and Jonny go out with oil lamps to search for him in the dark.

Jonny realizes the rest of the family has been secretly eating less food so that he has enough to survive.

Miranda tells her family she is going to town to check for mail, but privately agrees to leave the skis behind for Jonny.

Miranda writes her final journal entry, explaining she has been writing to remember life as it was and as it is now.

Even before the asteroid strikes, Matt's uneasy late-night call signals that something significant is about to happen, and when the moon appears startlingly closer afterward, Miranda begins to grasp the true scale of events. Miranda's mother makes a key decision to keep their stockpile secret from neighbors, quietly signaling how much the social fabric is tearing apart. As conditions worsen, Miranda's selfish act of eating Matt's birthday chocolate chips forces a painful reckoning with her own immaturity, while letters from her stranded father reveal that the crisis extends far beyond their small town. Revelations accumulate: Miranda learns that Megan has died, discovers the town reverend has been fed by his starving congregation, and has a surreal encounter with her skating idol Brandon Erlich at the frozen pond. A blizzard tests the family's bonds when Miranda and Jonny search for Matt in the dark, and Jonny's discovery that the whole family has been quietly starving themselves for his sake reframes every silent sacrifice the reader has witnessed. Miranda's final act — leaving home to die in town so her family can survive a little longer — becomes instead the journey that saves them all.