At precisely 7:30pm on September the 23rd, Hazel Lewis and Nick Webber witness the crash landing of a 747 in downtown Seattle. The city falls into an uneasy silence. When their parents fail to come home that night, Hazel and Nick break curfew, leaving Anvac, a small community where they have been forced to live since refusing a government-issued vaccination. Embarking on a cross-country adventure where people are left to survive any way they can, Hazel, Nick and a few friends they meet along the way try to unravel how a one-world government could turn billions of people to stone. Avoiding pernicious Sweepers and other lethal agents out to cause them harm along the way, Hazel, Nick and their friends ultimately must decide whether or not to eliminate those who rule the world.