It is fall of 2015, and Jake is a line cook-or at least he was, until he and his entire team were let go from their jobs following a suspected E.coli outbreak traced to their restaurant. Jake-who has always been a stickler for food safety-suspects that the outbreak is actually part of a larger problem that the news has been referring to as The Event, a series of changes encompassing dramatic shifts in weather and decline in the integrity of the nation's food supply. The deaths were in fact caused by a new deadly strain of bacteria, and its reach is expanding, affecting people all over the United States. As the Event sweeps the country, killing first thousand and then tens of thousands, Jake recalls his culinary career-particularly his life with fellow chef, Carla-and struggles desperately to determine how he can make a difference. A novel based on the reality of our food supply's truly fragile nature, The Event That Changed Everything explores environmental issues, farming, and restaurant life through the eyes of two chefs doing their best to meet the challenges of a changing world.