Author(s): Thomas Mullen

Fiction

Set against the dual backdrop of World War I and the devastating 1918 influenza epidemic, "The Last Town On Earth" is a brilliantly drawn tale of morality and patriotism in a time of upheaval. Deep in the evergreen woods of Washington State lies the mill town of Commonwealth, a new community founded on progressive ideals, and a refuge for workers who have fled the labour violence in the surrounding towns. When rumours spread of a mysterious illness that is killing people at an alarming rate, the people of the uninfected Commonwealth vote to block all roads into town and post armed guards to prevent any outsiders from entering. One day two guards - Philip Worthy, the 16-year-old son of the town founder, and his friend Graham Stone, a hardened survivor of vicious strikes - are confronted with a moral dilemma. A starving and apparently ill soldier attempts to enter the town, begging them for food and shelter. Should Worthy and Stone admit him, possibly putting their families at risk? Or should they place their lives above his and let him die in the woods?