Felix Martin awakes to what he has been waiting for all his life: for civilization to finally meet its destiny. A massive explosion in the west by what, no one knows. Multiple presumed nuclear attacks in almost every major city. An airborne zootoxic infection that has manipulated the very genetic physiology and physical characteristics of the infected. And an entire country experiencing true freedom for once in its existence. Felix navigates the ash-covered and quiet remnants of the United States, coming across friends and survivors along the way and derailing his futile attempts to find out for himself his fiancée's disposition. To find out what happened to her. However, the universe has other plans. Gangs and false flags, the true evil of what a human being can do to another, are all distractions as he fights onward. Catching the attention of those responsible for the infection further guides him down a dark path. In his travels, he finds that what is coming is far greater than reality, ending up in Fort Monroe, Virginia, where all that remains is gathering just outside that old fort's walls. He slowly lets himself ride that spiral as far as it goes, down into that maddening dark place only the fallen know. With secrets all about him and a new fascist remnant of the old government on the rise, he merely smears his face with a jagged grin all the while being chased by the queen of the feral and something far older than even the light. The Black Dog watches as Felix slowly loses himself when he finds out he is no longer just a man. He leaves his humanity behind because after all, monsters deserve to kill monsters. Regardless the trial or adversary, it wasn't his world that ended.