A tale of survival in a zombie-ridden old west. Just after the Civil War, a zombie outbreak amongst the Native American tribes nearly cripples the United States. Nearly fifteen years later, the western front is still overrun with the undead, and it's up to men like Theophilus Jackson to tame these Badlands.

Only the undead aren't the only danger in the Badlands. A power block named the Syndicate has risen in the west and is threatening to take down what is left of the floundering United States. After a deadly tangle with the Syndicate leader Dillon Thomas, Theo and his young charge Samantha are on the run back to the border with news that could change the world-a cure for the undead virus.