It wasn't until the country was almost annihilated that a few survivors had to defend what little resources they could find in order to actually survive. No power, no clean water, no food left had many wondering what they were going to do. Chaos ensued, and people took what little they could find from neighbors and friends to the point no one was safe for very long. Eleven-year-old Ridley was quick on her feet and as she was stealing a bit of bread for her young brothers, she got caught. Severe punishment was the new order for thieves, and Ridley was bussed to an extremely remote detention center for teens of all ages caught breaking the law.

On the fateful bus ride, Jinx, a fourteen-year-old boy, befriends Ridley and watches out for her; and a complicated platonic relationship develops over the next five years. That is when even the detention center has no food left and the teens are turned loose to survive in the wild. They have owned nothing except their ragtag single set of clothes that have worn out, and because no clothing or shoes were ever delivered to the center, imaginative creativity was necessary.

Only young Ridley's determination and knowledge of old survival TV shows will get the teens through the toughest challenges any of them would ever face. Ridley...New Beginnings is the first book in a series following the teens into adulthood as they face many trials and tribulations mixed with jubilance and pure joy.