From the Bookshelf of Apocalypse Whenever…

[close] The story's events take place in rural France in the late 20th century. The protagonist is Emanuel Comte, former school director, now farmer & landowner. He's also an owner of a tourist attraction: an old castle called Malevil after the nearby village. He's a highly motivated, well-respected person with a talent for diplomacy & leadership. By chance, Emanuel & several of his friends find themselves in the wine cellar of the castle during the unexpected outbreak of nuclear war. The survivors find their surroundings reduced to ashes & rubble. Together under the leadership of Emanuel they start to rebuild. They later discover that other people & animals have survived in nearby farmsteads & villages. Nature begins anew. An agrarian society starts to reform. From time to time more survivors show up, some bringing death & destruction with them.
One of the main challenges of the slowly emerging society is to fend off the threat of a new theocratic dictatorship that has taken over a neighboring village with the assistance of a marauding gang.