Franz Schlepke is a man who would do anything for his beloved, ailing wife, Gretchen, and he has the means to do it. Doctors Laura Chamberlain and Friedrick Mueller are genetic engineers with the moral convictions that make them willing to conduct their less than ethical research under the auspices of Franz Schlepke. Together they create a virus intended to cure the ravages of age, but a sudden decline in Gretchen's health forces Schlepke to use it before testing is complete initiating a pandemic that will change the face of the planet, and the human race, forever. Oscar "Oz" Ritter is an incurable smart-ass and jack-of-all-trades. Over-educated and underemployed, he has yet to find his true place in the world. When a mysterious flu pandemic sweeps across the planet, Oz leaps into action, gathering his brother and a few close friends at his mother's house in suburban Cleveland. Brian Rooney is an intelligent, video game loving, overweight, bullied teenager. He and his best friend, LaCroix, think they have figured out what is happening in the world much earlier than most folks and begin making survival plans. But their most difficult task is convincing their parents that the end of the world might actually be coming. Don Murphy, a 72 year-old survivalist and prepper, isn't certain what is happening, but he knows enough to seek out a place to lay low. But as much as he'd like to ride out the pandemic in the peace and quite of the Rocky Mountains, circumstances and a desperate call for help from a young girl force him into action. What Franz Schlepke unleashes upon the world is a virus unlike any ever seen before. Succumbing to this virus is not the worst possible outcome; nor is immunity the only other possibility...