The Year of the Flood

The novel follows Ren and Toby as they survive in the wake of the Waterless Flood, a man-made catastrophe that has wiped out most human life. Their stories move between pre- and post-disaster periods, revealing how each woman ended up in the crisis and how they try to endure it.

A major part of the narrative explores God's Gardeners, an eco-religious group that blends science, religion, conservation, recycling, vegetarianism, and ritual. Their sermons and hymns frame the story while showing how the group prepared for the collapse and how its beliefs shaped the women who passed through it.

The wider world includes corporate control, genetic engineering, hybrid animals, and other surviving characters whose paths intersect with Ren and Toby. The book gradually connects these threads to the disaster and to events shared with the earlier novel, expanding the same world from different angles.