Unlike a lot of apocolyptic style novels, the story here starts at the same point - or perhaps just before - as the virus that causes the apocalyptic situation. Alex and his few remaining friends band together to protect the neighborhood from a threat far deadlier than the flu, as they edge closer to the inevitable confrontation that will test the limits of their humanity. Just when he thinks it can't get any worse, the very face of human evil arrives on Durham Rd and threatens to destroy them all.

A mounting scarcity of food and critical supplies turns most of the neighbors against him, and Alex is forced to confront their unexpected hostility before it goes too far. But as the deadliest pandemic in human history ravages northern New England, and starts to unravel the fabric of their Maine neighborhood, he starts to realize that the flu itself is the least of his problems. With his family and home prepared for an extended period of seclusion, Alex has few real concerns about the growing pandemic. He particularly knows that strict isolation is the only guaranteed way to protect his family from the new disease.

As a seasoned sales representative for Biosphere Pharmaceuticals, makers of a leading flu virus treatment, Alex understands what a deadly pandemic means for all of them. When the Jakarta Flu threatens his picture perfect Maine neighborhood, Alex Fletcher, Iraq War veteran, is ready to do whatever it takes to keep his family safe. In the late fall of 2013, a lethal pandemic virus emerges from the Islamic Republic of Indonesia (IRI) and rages unchecked across every continent.

The Jakarta Pandemic by Steven Konkoly