When a sickness that creates horrible monsters out of humans sweeps the globe, seventeen-year-old Tara survives with a band of survivors in the burned out city of St. Louis. The group fights through struggles to find the cause and the cure for the sickness. Meanwhile, Tara falls for the girl she rescues and hopes to charm her. In the end, it's up to Tara to save the world, but that's no big deal.