As a 34-year-old progressive local politician in Montbray, Miranda Brown grapples with the devastating collapse of a once-mighty manufacturing hub that now stands as the most miserable city in America. Once home to 1.2 million residents producing iconic military hardware like the F 4 Phantom and M60 tanks during its 1960s golden age, Montbray withered through post-Vietnam stagnation, brief Reagan-era reprieves, and the fatal blow of the Cold War's end. Seeking expert insight for her economic diversification platform, Miranda meets with a professor from Truman State University who is researching the city's sociological puzzle. She details how generational trauma fractures Montbray, moving from elders who remember past prosperity to Gen X who tasted only frustration, and Millennials and Gen Z who know nothing of the boom. When Miranda asks the professor for their honest opinion and advice on what went wrong, the ensuing dialogue sets the stage for a deep exploration of the structural failures of the military-industrial complex, neoliberal tax policies, and the urgent search for renewal in a dying American city.

You can find the complete Montbray series via the link below 🔗📚

• Montbray Universe