What happens if democracy falls? In Refuge: A Novel of Lost Democracy , democracy in America wasn’t lost to invasion or foreign terrorist attacks. Nor to a global cataclysm or military coup or an economic collapse. Democracy fell because it was our choice. An election was all that was needed. Gerrymandered districts. Laws suppressing the vote. Disinformation and lies. Promises of former glory. Apathy and ignorance. Political violence and above all, fear. The story begins in Saint Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada, where American dissidents hope to start a new life. Mike and Debbie Whynot, both retired U.S. Air Force officers and leaders of their fellow expatriates, face threats from the new autocratic U.S. government. They will pay dearly for their continued fight for democracy. Across the Saint Croix River in Eastport, Maine, others remain in service to the new U.S. government. A few will find the moral burden unendurable. Refuge: A Novel of Lost Democracy explores what is possible. Even probable.