By the twenty-seventh century, eons of war, disease, and climate change have diminished the earth’s population. Those who remain must struggle to survive. Towns worldwide have sunk into coastal waters. Deadly viruses kill thousands each day, and a dangerous man with a bad past—Pye Peters—wields an iron grip on the ‘zones’ that have survived nature’s purge. Severance, Peters’ radical new order, likes it simple: Exploit the ‘breathers’, and use advanced medical techniques to revive the newly deceased. Thousands are brought back from the dead, kept animated and docile by use of medication that prevents the typical rabidness of zombies. To ensure the changes take, these modern versions of the undead are forced into a harsh rehabilitation program. Blake 187 is one such rehabilitee.