Henry Watson was an ordinary man with an ordinary life. He had a wife, a job, and friends who loved him. But then the rains came. Clouds filled with deadly bacteria that fell from the sky to change people into flesh-eating ghouls. With no past and an uncertain future, Henry and his companions travel the deadlands of what was once America, searching for someplace safe, devoid of an undead presence. But the world has changed and it is very possible there is nowhere safe, from either man or zombie. After spending the winter in a shopping mall with other survivors of the zombie apocalypse, the political climate grows uneasy and the companions decide it's time to leave, traveling south. Meanwhile, in Connecticut, an ex-crime boss has taken over a submarine base, and with a nuclear submarine at his disposal, hopes to shape an empire out of the ashes of America. The flame of hope may dwindle, but the will to survive burns bright.