Even though there were no meteors that hit the Earth, no terrorists that placed the world in peril, and no nuclear war that was launched, something did go wrong. There is no longer any communication between the majority of settlements on Earth. Electricity is still operational in a ring-shaped region of Eastern Europe, and there are possibly even reports of life coming from space. What the military forces discover outside of the Ring is very alarming. There are dead bodies scattered all over the place, including in shops, on the highways, in automobiles, in hospitals, and at train stations. Who or what is responsible for wiping out every living thing on Earth? How much longer will the final vestige of human civilization hold out?