In the freewheeling '70s, La Mesa Penitentiary was a prison unlike any other, a colorful little pueblo on the east side of Tijuana that was home to the worst criminals imaginable-and their entire families. Everything was controlled by the inmates, and the world they created was a bizarre reflection of the one they'd left behind: There was a bustling business district complete with stores and restaurants, a prison laundry staffed by transvestite hookers and a babysitting service run by a schizophrenic murderer. Weekend fiestas brought drunken partiers to the prison, along with masked wrestlers...

Despite all the warning bells, Black Friday arrives as a devastating tidal wave that completely destroys our fragile economy in a single day. There is panic in the streets as banks close their doors, seemingly forever, at noon. Store shelves are swept bare and the gas pumps soon run dry. Jimmy Logan watches in disbelief as his world crumbles before his eyes. Luckily, he has friends who have planned ahead for this nightmarish scenario and he joins up with a group who plan to ride the storm out in northern Minnesota. Some of their group will be dead before the sun sets. Jimmy soon finds himself...

In this, the final installment of the Desperate Times trilogy, Jimmy and his people learn that the economic crisis has passed, but not before a bird flu pandemic has claimed a billion lives. While the FEMA camps may have opened their gates, sweeping changes have been made to the Constitution, which is one of the few things our gridlocked Congress can agree upon. Furthermore, the dollar bill has been replaced by the amero and by the end of the year all Americans will be required to have a microchip embedded in their skin. Once again, an angry population has taken to the streets in protest....