While home on leave, Private First Class John Wilcox has two weeks to see his high school girlfriend, Ellie, between trips into the backwoods and hills of Arkansas. He hunts to feed his poverty-stricken mother and siblings, and when his mother’s freezer is stocked full, he joins his buddies to report for military duty. En route to Fort Leonard Wood, the three soldiers become caught in a maelstrom of violence. Can Wilcox find safety for himself and his growing band of followers, bus passengers, and store looters, each trying to understand what is driving people insane? Can they discover the enemy in their midst or escape through hordes of primordial monsters so that Wilcox can get back to the woman he loves, and protect his family from evils, both apparent and concealed? In this prequel to the Julie Rayzor novels, we see the dystopian zombie world through John Wilcox’s experiences.