Black ops agent Chad Halverson of the CIA's National Clandestine Service escapes plague- and zombie-ravaged Santa Monica with dress designer Victoria Brady and sets sail northward up the smoldering California coast. Along the way, Halverson and Brady rescue the idealistic Dr. Parnell, the UCSB coed Brittany Pine who is in a state of shock induced by the loss of her boyfriend to the walking dead, and the cynical reporter Blake Reno. Seeking sanctuary from the walking dead in Alcatraz prison, Halverson and his band of refugees discover that all is not as it seems on the island haven at the Rock. In fact, they may have more to fear than the walking dead in the person of Alcatraz's reigning "Chosen One," the charismatic proponent of law and order Jefferson Bascomb, who believes zombies have the right to a fair trial.