A first-class letter--containing a single sheet of paper, on which is a diagram for making a nuclear bomb--is anonymously sent to an editor at the Daily Californian .

A political writer at the Washington Post has a message for a "Mr. Curly" awaiting him when he gets to work. Twelve hours later, presidential advisor Frank Curly is found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a Washington D.C. park. In his hotel room is a dead 15-year-old girl, spread eagle on the bed and naked, arms and legs tied to the bedposts.

Two men investigating seemingly disparate mysteries on opposite coasts unknowingly share a common bond: the clues to a conspiracy that could reshape the structure of a nation and create a terrifying new world.

Fallout' s themes of political intrigue and conspiracy reflect today's political climate, a prescient observation given the successful Republican platform that empowered the Bush administration for much of its presidency.