In Within a Wakening Earth, two strangers wake after what appears to be several decades of slumber in a world they do not recognize and which they find utterly devoid of human life outside themselves. In this dystopian sci-fi sequel to Under a Darkening Moon, garrulous hair-stylist Todd and reserved biologist Mort embark on a cross-country exploration of a post-apocalyptic world in a search for humanity, and discover their new world appears instead to be inhabited by creatures of long-ago eras-like woolly rhinos and dinosaurs-as well as futuristic periods-like flying boats and humanoids. Though Todd and Mort's increasingly perilous journey eventually ends with the discovery of a world in which they can live, their exploration is far from over; their new fate is a mission into the center of the Earth-or, rather, the edge of the universe-that none have previously survived.

Taking place twenty-seven years after the portentous events of its acclaimed prequel, Within a Wakening Earth unites new characters with familiar faces in an unforgettable pursuit to better understand their new world and how to continue their species' existence within it.