Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga's thrilling New York Times bestsellers – Rise of the Governor and The Road to Woodbury – are combined to reveal the origin of the most ruthless villain in The Walking Dead Universe! In the Walking Dead universe, there is no greater villain than The Governor. The despot who runs the walled-off town of Woodbury, he has his own sick sense of whether it's forcing prisoners to battle in a zombie-infested arena for the townspeople's amusement or chopping off the appendages of those who cross him. But where did he come from? For the first time, fans of The Walking Dead will discover how The Governor became the man he is, and what drove him to such extremes. While the zombie plague unleashes its horrors on the suburbs of Atlanta without warning, pitting the living against the dead, Lilly Caul struggles to survive in a series of ragtag encampments and improvised shelters. But the Walkers are multiplying. Dogged by their feral hunger for flesh and crippled by fear, Lilly relies on the protection of good Samaritans by seeking refuge in a walled-in town once known as Woodbury, Georgia. At first, Woodbury seems like a perfect sanctuary. Squatters barter services for food, people have roofs over their heads, and the barricade expands, growing stronger every day. Best of all, a mysterious self-proclaimed leader called The Governor keeps the citizens in line. But Lilly begins to suspect that all is not as it seems... The Governor has disturbing ideas about law and order.