This is a fantastic story. I listened almost straight through except for the one night of sleep I had to have. The setting is Texas: first Austin and then other places in the state. If you are from Texas, you will probably be familiar with the highways they travel and the various landmarks of the cities. The infection affects group of people differently. None are “zombies” as we know them from fiction. They can be killed in traditional methods – their brain does not have to be destroyed. The infection is not necessarily transmitted by biting. It can be spread by kissing and is also airborne. Some people are immune. The people who are not immune mostly end up with loss of pigmentation (they are white). Most survivors are mindless cannibals but a very few of these survivors are evil “smart” leaders. A few others have the same intellect as before they were infected. There are other variations among the survivors, too small to mention.
The main characters are Zed and Murphy. They met at the beginning of the major outbreak and became the best of friends. Both have lost their pigmentation, but otherwise have the same personalities and intellect. Zed has a troubled past. He is smart, loyal and funny. Zed has no prior knowledge of weapons and fighting but he is driven to kill the vicious whites and to help others. He sometimes is reckless. Murphy is also smart, loyal and funny but he is more cautious. Murphy spent some time in the military and is familiar with weapons, but he is not the super hero ex-special forces type guy.
Murphy and Zed meet and get involved with many other people during their adventures. They both even find a woman they fall in love with. Their main goal is to find a safe place to live and to start rebuilding community. It is not easy in an infected world.