A massive wall has been constructed to separate Free America, where life is as normal as it ever was, from the regions of Texas and the Gulf Coast populated by millions of the flesh-eating dead and the hopeless survivors they hunt-the so-called Forgotten. With so much desperate hunger, the equilibrium afforded by the wall can not hold, and there are rumors of a secret passage from the Quarantine Zone into Free America.Investigative journalist Samantha Calloway isn't satisfied with a rumor, nor with an entire segment of U.S. citizenry being forgotten. One night, in search of answers, she steals past the Coast Guard blockade and lands on a deserted beach in South Texas. Her mission: spend three weeks wandering the ruins, finding out how those left behind live their lives and whether or not escape is possible. Get in and get out. It's all supposed to be very easy.But in the Quarantine Zone, every scrap, morsel, and movement has a price, and the only thing that comes easy is death.