After inheriting a world overrun by the undead, isolationist Michael is content to fritter away his time in relative comfort. Hidden away in his gun store, he has long enjoyed the stranglehold he maintains over the weapons trade. Dwelling in a derelict hardware store and mega-church in the region are two camps of survivors with which he fosters a delicate truce. Yet Michael has weathered enough zombie attacks to have determined the ebb and flow of their wintertime migratory patterns from his temperate climate. By dystopian standards, life isn't too shabby. But erratically evolving zombie patterns, tragedy, and a solemn vow to a dying friend will jar Michael out of his routine. With the realization that a quarter million zombies lurk just on the other side of a spring thaw, Michael is willing to entertain any desperate action he must to turn the tides against the largest undead invasion since the initial outbreak. Even if it means trading away his weapons monopoly to garner the support of his surly neighbors. Trudging fifteen miles through a frozen hellscape, their loyalties to one another, to their respective camps, and to the quest at large will be put to the test. A reclusive sage four towns away may hold the key, possessing the ability to decipher a mysterious decades-old note written by a newly-turned zombie. Racing against a rapidly ending winter, it is uncertain if they can reach him before the floodgate of zombies bursts open. Some believe the notes' contents unlock a secret weapon against the undead. Others maintain that it could be nothing more than a cookie recipe. Each is an equally credible answer to a question that could be the death of them. But then again, if it doesn't work, they are all dead anyway.