It began, as big events often do, with small things — a little girl, a little dog, a microscopic virus that leads to a tragedy no one should ever have to face. Having lost his daughter to rabies, Dr. Aaron Pickman tries to derive some meaning from her death. In his search for a cure, he unleashes a virus that will bring the world to its knees. However, just as great tragedies often have small beginnings, great individuals can have humble origins...

Tammany, an injured woman running with a baby in her arms, has one slim, heart-stopping chance to save him.
Fletch, an infected man, tries desperately to protect his oldest friend.

And Louella, an old woman on her Pennsylvanian farm, offers shelter to survivors and becomes the unlikely leader of Camp North Star – one of the last outposts of uninfected humanity.

They are all frail, flawed, ordinary people who rise to meet the challenge of this deadly new threat. Yes, it is a time of plague; but in that darkness, they are the starlight.