Famine is a 1981 horror novel written by Scottish writer Graham Masterton

Graham Masterton

Graham Masterton is a British horror author. Originally editor of Mayfair and the British edition of Penthouse, Graham Masterton's first novel The Manitou was released in 1976. This novel was adapted in 1978 for the film The Manitou...

. The story is about a nationwide famine

Famine

A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...

 that sweeps America, rendering all sources of food contaminated in one way or another.

The plot revolves around Ed Hardesty, a wheat farmer who owns South Burlington Farm, Kingman County, Kansas

Kingman County, Kansas

Kingman County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2010 census, the county population was 7,858. The largest city and county seat is Kingman.-History:...

 and his attempt to find out the cause of the blight

Blight

Blight refers to a specific symptom affecting plants in response to infection by a pathogenic organism. It is simply a rapid and complete chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as leaves, branches, twigs, or floral organs. Accordingly, many diseases that primarily exhibit this...

 that has stricken his wheat crop, as well as every other crop in the United States. Though there are numerous other characters, Ed is indeed the protagonist

Protagonist

A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...

and is the focal point for the book's progression.