The old world is gone, shattered by the zombie plague. In the tiny town of Ashley Oaks, Texas, a hundred or so survivors are building a new world, beginning with a high-walled fort. They've defended their home against ravenous zombies and cruel bandits, gathered supplies, established a civil government, and even found love among the ruins.
Katie has made peace with the loss of her beloved wife. To her own surprise, she has remarried and is pregnant with her husband's child. Jenni, her stepson Jason, and her new love, Juan, have become a family, though Jenni still has nightmares about her abusive husband, Lloyd, who is a zombie.
A supply run gone terribly wrong leads to the discovery of another group of survivors, trapped in a failing shopping mall. Their every move is controlled by a power-hungry U.S. senator who has had her eyes on the fort almost since the first day. She plans to offer it as a trophy to the president of the United States, who is still alive and commanding the remnants of the U.S. military.
For some, the opportunity to recover even fragments of the old world is an irresistible temptation. For others, the freedom of the new world, despite its terrors, is more than worth fighting for.
The final battle for the fort--and, in a way, for the soul of America--is about to begin.
"One of the few zombie novels fueled by the power of feminine protagonists in an apocalyptic world gone wrong." --Harrisburg Book Examiner on The First Days: As the World Dies
"Joins the most imaginative of horrors with memorable characters and heartfelt honesty." --David Dunwoody, author of Empire and Dark Entities
"A vivid picture of what the world could become if a zombie outbreak were to occur. Jenni and Katie are intriguing characters, and I found it fascinating to follow their story. I found myself on the edge of my seat, turning the pages to find out what was going to happen next." --Bitten by Books (5 out of 5 tombstones) on The First Days
