The Gone-Away World is the debut novel of British author Nick Harkaway, a science fiction novel set in a post-apocalyptic world crippled by the 'Go-Away War'. First published in June 2008 by Heinemann. The book is written from the perspective of a single character, part of a group of ex-special operatives turned truckers that collectively make up the 'Haulage & HazMat Emergency Civil Freebooting Company'. The story largely focuses on the lives of the narrator and that of his best friend, a member of the company.