and the Bouazizi Empire wants to prevent the re-emergence of the U.S. as a superpower. Seeking revenge against the U.S. government, Sarat accepts the offer and convinces her former rebel comrades to secure her passage to the Reunification Ceremony. Before leaving, Sarat visits the crippled Gaines at his cabin but leaves without killing him. She also arranges for her associates to smuggle her nephew Benjamin to safety in New Anchorage, Alaska. Later, Sarat infiltrates the Reunification Ceremony. While entering, she briefly encounters one of Baker's teenage sons whom she had spared; he now works as a guard there. He allows her in upon recognizing her without requesting any proper ID. The resulting "Reunification Plague" kills 110 million people and devastates the country, which is already war-torn. The orphaned Benjamin settles to his new life in New Anchorage and becomes a respected historian. Decades later, Benjamin discovers his aunt's diaries and learns of her experiences during the Second American Civil War and her role in the Reunification Plague. To spite his aunt, Benjamin burns her diaries but keeps one page as a memento. Setting Much of the novel is set in the "Free Southern States", which originally consisted of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Texas. The U.S. is split between parts of the old southeastern states and the remaining northern and western states. At the outset of the war, Mexico occupied and annexed large portions of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, which were previously Mexican territory. Other secessionist movements are mentioned: Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and parts of Canada are in talks to form Cascadia. The novel is interspersed with several "in-universe" historical documents, interviews, and media reports. The "Second American Civil War" lasts between 2074 and 2095. The conflict started after the assassination of President Ki during a suicide bombing attack in 2073, as well as the shooting of Southern protesters outside Fort Jackson, South Carolina in 2074. After five years of conventional warfare around the borders of the Free Southern States, rebel "insurrectionists" wage guerrilla warfare against U.S. forces. Following a protracted negotiation process, the war is settled in favor of the United States. However, a "secessionist terrorist" (later revealed to be the protagonist Sarat) releases a biological agent, known as the "Reunification Plague," during the Reunification Day Ceremony in Columbus, Ohio, which spreads across the country and kills 110 million people. Refugees flee to