Jim's day started off normal. After sleeping off the night shift he meandered out to the curb in his bathrobe to get his mail. When three blood-covered lunatics screech in rage and charge across the street after him he runs for his life. Scared, sore, and confused, Jim must learn to adapt to the new reality of a world where the majority of the population has devolved into a primitive state, perpetually enraged and focused on stomping the life out of those left unchanged. Together with a small group of survivors he must carve a life out of the chaos. On the other side of the world the event has created untenable geopolitical rifts with the surviving nations. Alliances are abandoned, old feuds are acted on, and the populations face hunger and hardship. The British execute the provisions set forth in a joint operational plan they hoped would never be necessary: Ophir Ridge, designed to protect America's nuclear assets in the event of a world-wide disaster. A small military force embarks on a mission to Dayton, Ohio where what remains of the United States military tries to maintain a foothold against overwhelming odds. Meanwhile, the new lawlessness allows human monsters to flourish. Fran is a special breed of predator, a smart, sadistic and practiced serial killer now free to indulge his urges and inflict misery on those whose survived the initial wave of death. He recruits others to his cause to create an empire comprised of the subservient, the weak, and the unfortunate. As these forces collide, who will emerge the victor? Will the world recover, or will humanity fade from existence?