Shift is the second book in the three-part Silo series by Hugh Howey. These books began as short stories and novellas published on Amazon that were compiled into full-length novels. The first book in the series is WOOL, followed by Shift and then Dirt. The books are now a series on Apple TV called Silo.

The series title refers to the 141-story underground buildings in which the characters live. The novels are set in a dystopian society designed by survivors of a nuclear strike that left the world outside their silos uninhabitable. WOOL is an acronym for the organization that designed and built the silos: the World Order Operation Fifty; the last letter in the acronym is L because it represents the Roman numeral for 50.

To fully benefit from this study guide and fully appreciate Shift, it’s helpful to have read the first book, WOOL, or at least know some key information from it. WOOL begins with the sheriff’s death. The sheriff’s deputy and the mayor begin looking for a new sheriff, focusing on Juliette Nichols, a woman who works in the bowels of the silo in an area known as Mechanicals. In exchange for becoming sheriff, Juliette requests a power holiday so that she can repair the silo’s generator.