The disease comes suddenly, without warning, and without mercy. It is an airborne germ that enters the human system through the respiratory tract. Through the capillaries of the lungs it enters the bloodstream, immediately attacking the brain. Its presence in the human body is marked by bleeding through the capillaries in the face; the capillaries rupture, causing bleeding through the nose, eyes, and ears. In the brain, the germ attacks and destroys the cortex; in the process, the victim becomes ridden with dementia and hysteria before slipping into a deep coma. Over a period of three days, the germ exponentially replicates in the brain, gaining the power and prominence to stimulate the brain stem. The victims come out of their comas, though now they are only shells of what they once were: personality, emotions, and thoughts are absent. All that is left is what appears to be a human being, though it is a mindless body, an organism of primal instincts and impulses, driven by an insatiable hunger and a thirst for survival, clinically insane. They are murderous fiends who only come out at night. They are not the “living dead”; rather, they are, simply, sick humans—sick beyond deliverance.

This second installment of the "Dwellers of the Night Trilogy" follows the story of "The Man" and Mark and their inauguration into a survivor's community on the eastern side of the city. The story progresses through the next several months and into spring, diving into the lives of the characters involved. The Man fears the community is not as secure as everyone else seems to believe, and he makes plans to travel northwest to Alaska.