Kit, a depressed but stubbornly vital twentysomething, travels aimlessly during a zombie apocalypse: hiding from marauders, joining and deserting small groups, enduring irritations ranging from the zombies (or “rotters”) themselves to roving fundamentalists. Kit is a survivor not only of this plague, but of a series of horrific programs her stepfather hosted, wherein the audience would bid for the opportunity to publicly torture the presented children. Kit discarded her birth name once society crumbled and has been trying on new ones since, much as she's been restlessly wandering, seeking an environment in which she fits.

Upon saving a woman and her children from rotters, Kit is invited to stay at a camp which seems ideal. Though she initially continues to feel isolated, Eric, a kindhearted bruiser, honors her with the name “Kit,” introducing her to feelings of friendship she'd never previously experienced. After Kit rescues Eric from a rooftop where a rotter swarm has him trapped, she is warmly embraced by his brothers, Thom and Matthew.

The brothers grew up near Kit's hometown and also suffered beneath an appallingly abusive father. This similarity of experience lets Kit feel comfortable starting to open up to, bond with, and enjoy spending time with them. Eric especially is determined to pull Kit out of her shell, and she begins to entrust him with her secrets, learning how to love, be loved, and trust someone other than herself. Ironically, it's only when she is surrounded by the undead that Kit truly learns to live.