In the world of Allison Sekimot, fear and hunger rule. A red virus nearly wiped out humanity, forcing the survivors to submit to vampire power. If you have a mark, once a month you give blood—in exchange for food and protection from the rabid, virus-mutated monsters that roam beyond the Wall. If there is no mark, there is no food.
Unmarked people survive a miserable existence on the Periphery, hunting for scraps of nourishment from dawn to dusk—because night is when the monsters come.
A new raid beyond the Wall ends in tragedy for Allison and her group. Allison dies to become a monster—one of those she hates.