Eight people escape decimated New York. They have only one thing in common: the alcoholic gene. The same genetic quirk that makes alcoholics and addicts susceptible to booze and drugs gives them a mysterious ability to evade detection by the undead.

But one gene in common isn’t enough to unite them. They’re a motley crew: A Botoxed Upper Eastsider; a drug dealer rescued from lockup; a resentful daughter of addicts; an insecure AA guy; a Japanese ex-dope fiend; an addicted Ivy Leaguer; and a Mexican immigrant. Dodging natural and unnatural disasters, drugged lunatics, and the living dead, they struggle to face their personal demons, accept one another, and find a new life. They think they’ve reached the end of their journey when they encounter a settlement that takes A.A. to fundamentalist extremes. But they have to make a choice…one they may not survive.