Before the carrier sank, before the world changed, the decline was already under way... Detroit is a city on the brink. And America is right behind it. Decades of economic collapse, political neglect, and gang warfare have hollowed it out. Entire neighborhoods stand abandoned, police patrols cling to the gentrified downtown core, and the rest of the city is left to fend for itself. When the local power company cuts electricity to thousands during a brutal winter, families turn to kerosene heaters. Fires sweep the streets. The death of a beloved schoolteacher and her family ignites protests that spiral into open revolt. Thousands flee across the river to Windsor, Canada, sparking an international refugee crisis that exposes just how far Detroit's-and America's-collapse has already gone. Amid the unrest, the River Gees gang strikes at a rival: Fave, a seasoned street boss whose nephew commands a battle-hardened crew of military veterans. With his organization under attack, Fave fights back-then spots an opening. If he can turn the coming U.S. Army deployment against the River Gees, the Avery Organization might not just survive, but come out stronger. As the Michigan National Guard falters, militias seize rural roads, and Washington sends in the 10th Mountain Division, Detroit becomes a war zone. At first, soldiers are welcomed as saviors. But in the city's shadows, Fave isn't the only one working an angle-powerful players far beyond Michigan's borders see a chance to turn local chaos into a global windfall. From gangland alleys to the White House Situation Room, Alter Road delivers a relentless portrait of a fractured America-where the real battle isn't for territory, but for control of the future. A standalone novel set in the Wartmann Universe, Alter Road lays the foundation for the global conflicts to come-and the rise of a leader destined to reshape the world.