There is just a thin veneer of civilization that masks the savagery that lies within us all.

Military policeman Alexander Cray built his life around a code that gave value to a promise and meaning to a commitment. Then the rumors start that the whole earth is under siege. Is it an alien invasion or terrorist attacks? Is MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Florida now just a glowing crater?

All that is sure is that Tampa is quarantined and Cray is led on a trek across a panic-stricken, lawless metropolis.