The story in one page
Jefferson Turck, an officer in the Pan-American service, patrols beyond the meridian of thirty degrees. Expecting a thriving Europe, his crew finds a depopulated landscape of ruins overgrown by nature. They encounter tribes and remnants of humanity who have regressed into barbarism. Captured by a local queen, Turck eventually earns his freedom and finds an ally in the princess named Victory. After a series of skirmishes, the arrival of a Pan-American fleet facilitates a dramatic escape. Turck finally returns home a hero, now determined to return to the Old World as an agent of progress.
Who's who
- Jefferson Turck
Pan-American officer who leads the expedition across the meridian.
- Victory
A local princess from the ruined European landscape.
- Delcarte
A member of the landing party who accompanies the expedition and joins in hunting for food.
- Pan-America
An isolationist power guarding the Western Hemisphere.
What it's really about
- Isolationism
- Western powers ignore a continent left to ruin.
- Regression
- Two centuries turn cities back into primitive wilderness.
Why it's memorable
- Zebras grazing peacefully in the middle of a leveled European city.
- A young girl creeping into a dugout to meet a prisoner.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
Turck marries Victory in Peking, finding his redemption through his new bride and a mission to civilize Europe.
For your book club
- Turck’s shock at the total collapse of European industrial infrastructure.
- The shift from a scouting mission to a geopolitical rescue operation.