From the barrier islands of South Carolina to the scenic shores of Lake Norman in North Carolina and a hospital ship sailing alone in the Atlantic Ocean, the infected dead have destroyed most of the population of the world. Small groups of people band together, some with leaders who take their people down the road toward death and some with leaders who make the decisions that keep their followers alive. This is the continuing story of the Mud Island survivors who have a plan to save a small part of humanity. As they live on in a shelter that is the dream of every survivalist, they find they must venture out into the world once again to help a lost friend, braving not only the infection, but radioactive fallout from a nuclear reactor, and the groups of survivors who are ready to take from them everything they have, including their lives.