Summary

The novel begins by giving the audience an overview of the central events that drive the story: the school shooting and the beginning of the house fires that kill the families of the fallen students. The opening pages detail the location and inner thoughts of the four main characters, all juniors on the yearbook staff tasked with creating the yearbook for that school year to send of the graduating seniors.

Nick is in English class when Caleb Raynor goes around the school shooting anyone who crosses his path. He helps his teacher and another student barricade the door and catches a haunting glimpse of Caleb roaming through the hallway in his hoodie jacket. Christina is in French class, a video providing the soundtrack to the tense hours she spends huddled underneath her desk. She is consumed by the terrified face of her conversation...