The end of civilization did not come suddenly. There was no flash of light, no blast from a nuclear explosion, and no mushroom cloud. There was no earthquake, no furious storm, nor cataclysmic event such as a meteor or massive solar flare. The end came gradually as a few people attacked and bit family members. Secrecy became more important than family bonds as people hid their bites from those closest to them. When those who were bitten died from the infection in their wounds, they rose from the dead and sought their own victims. Soon, there were millions of the infected dead searching the world for the living, and then the infection spread more quickly.
A small group of people brought together by chance have survived in a shelter on an island near the coast of South Carolina, but although they are safe, they cannot bring themselves to sit by and wait for all of civilization to die. They are forced to make the hard choices that include leaving the shelter when it is for the good of others.
Out of necessity, they make the decision to bring a father and his daughter, Tom and Molly, into their shelter. Not content to simply rescue the pair, they believe it is possible to reunite them with their family in Alabama. Driven by a feeling of moral responsibility to do more than just exist, they set out on a risky quest to accomplish the impossible by traveling through a devastated world.
This is the story of that group of friends as they encounter and overcome the dangers of the infected dead.