Cultwick: The Wretched Dead begins several weeks following the cure of the Sweeper Bot Plague during a temporary moment of peace in the empire. The Chromework Confederacy has struck a blow to the Cultwick Empire by uncovering the truth behind the disease, which has only made the empress more zealous in her endeavors to eliminate the rebellion once and for all. The rebels, however, should be the least of their concerns as Fiona Newton returns, bringing with her a new plague to Cultwick City. When imprisoned inside the Center for Empirical Research Fiona Newton was forcefully subjected to all manner of experimental research, leaving her with the specific ability to reanimate dead tissue and control the minds of those she infected. After learning her potential while in the western frontier, Fiona now returns to the city that created her with a personal vendetta and an army of infected corpses. With their undying obedience, she threatens to tear down the Cultwick Empire and everything their regime stand for.