Marnie is born into a world battling the Invisible Choker. As the disease scythes down adults and the vulnerable, Marnie is abandoned to a lonely existence. Her only companion is Shadow, who frequently leads her astray and is out of sight of any authority. On one adventure, they come to a deserted house, a time capsule of lost lives, where they soon discover a world-changing secret hidden within its walls. As an adult surviving in a post-apocalyptic world, Marnie, now a virologist, dreams of discovering a cure-all to wipe viruses from the planet. At the same time, she wrestles with her childhood demons and attempts to adapt to the new world of human relationships. However, many disturbing events threaten to sabotage her efforts and derail her from her life's plans. Early one morning, her world turned upside down. Resting on the doorstep of a sweatshop is a young man, an outsider, a hostile derelict who lives on the town's dump. Their eyes lock, and their lives crash together. The first apocalypse is bad enough, but what follows is far more sinister.