Thirteen-year-old Oz Griffin is responsible for the end of the world. Oz and his friends relentlessly torment Tommy Dayton, a neighborhood boy with Down syndrome, until he commits suicide. While Oz is in a semi-conscious state recovering from a high fever, monstrous creatures called the Takers from Tommy's homemade comic books come to life. They are huge, ferocious beasts that eat almost everyone in the world. In Oz's hometown, there are only three survivors, Oz, his dog Kimball, and a newborn named Nate. As Oz travels the south, he becomes the leader of a band of survivors, including Wes, a middle-aged mechanic, Lou, a mute 12-year old girl, and Ajax, a silverback gorilla who knows American Sign Language. They learn that thinking about the Takers summons them. So each time they read Tommy's comic book to find a way to defeat the creatures, they must do battle with them.