MCADAM STUDIOS
Out of the Ashes
A grounded post-collapse story universe about family, leadership under pressure, and the brutal maths of survival — where the most dangerous thing isn’t the wasteland, it’s what people become when the rules vanish.
Logline
After government greed and human negligence fracture society, a father and his two children fight through a collapsing Britain toward the promised safety of the Green Zone — but survival demands choices that threaten to break the family long before the world does.
Grounded / Character-ledWhat It Feels Like
Real roads. Real hunger. Real fear. The apocalypse isn’t spectacle — it’s systems failing, one service at a time, until the only law left is the one you can enforce. The tone stays human: tense, emotional, occasionally darkly funny.
Tension + humanityCore Themes
• Leadership under pressure
• Family as the last institution
• Hope with a price tag
• Moral trade-offs and consequence
• The danger of “safe zones” and false promises
The Hook
Out of the Ashes isn’t about monsters or gimmicks — it’s about what collapses inside people when the outside world collapses. The biggest threat is rarely the wasteland. It’s a desperate human with a plan.
No gimmicksMain Characters
Callum — a fiercely devoted father trying to keep his children alive, even when it costs him his own humanity.
Lucy (7) — brave, fierce, and stubbornly hopeful; refuses to be treated like a passenger.
Thomas (4) — younger, vulnerable, and the emotional anchor; his safety is the line that can’t be crossed.
The Story Engine
Each chapter forces a choice: food vs morality, speed vs safety, truth vs cohesion. Decisions ripple outward, creating allies, enemies, and consequences that follow.
Choice → consequenceSignature Tension
A safe place can be worse than the road. A leader can be right and still lose the group. A “good choice” can cost too much. The drama comes from pressure, not plot tricks.
Pressure cookerRoadmap
Book 1: Ash and Embers — survival on the road; the Green Zone becomes the North Star.
Book 2: Children of the Collapse — the world expands; leadership fractures; new factions form as resources vanish.
Prequel: Flags in the Fire — the political and social fuse that lit the collapse; the revolution begins.
Rights & Business Enquiries
For rights, partnerships, or adaptation enquiries, contact:
Email: [email protected]