A deadly influenza pandemic. An escaped convict. A single mother desperate to protect her only child. As an insidious virus threatens to cripple society, providence brings together two survivors in an unlikely partnership to aid a world fraught with chaos. On a small poultry farm located in Delaney, Georgia, an antigenic shift causes the H7N9 bird flu virus to jump to other species. The contagion burns through everything in its path despite the federal government's ham-handed efforts to mask its true nature. The unprecedented mortality rate paralyzes the nation and paves the way for establishing FEMA's martial law across the country. At a maximum security federal penitentiary south of Tucson, Arizona, Teddy Sanders's world of structure and routine crumbles to dust as the virus starts spreading through the prison, callously striking down guards and his fellow inmates alike. The administration loses control, and Teddy finds himself fighting enemies both old and new. Circumstances force him to form precarious alliances in order to escape what has effectively become a concrete tomb. Meanwhile, fifty miles away in the heart of downtown Tucson, a young woman named Jane risks it all to keep her young son Danny safe in an apartment building. Surrounded by armed looters and desperate survivors as well as an increasingly hostile military presence, Jane is forced to venture out on her own to forage for supplies. When their paths cross and inalterable choices are made, will the unwitting pair find salvation?