When an epidemic hits America, causing seventy percent of the population (mostly white people) to become zombies, politicians classify the outbreak as a terrorist attack and blame China, North Korea, and the Middle East. In response to the threat of the disease, Americans begin to build machines with giant pistons, which attract the zombies with their sound and strength. With the zombies lured toward the machines, the survivors can organize and regroup safely. However, the machines require upkeep and maintenance, so the American government decides to place survivors of Asian and Arab descent in internment camps to monitor the machines. The government claims that the camps are largely for these peoples's safety, since they were the targets of rioting and violence after they were blamed for the outbreak. Because someone's ancestry is hard to prove efficiently, practically any person with darker skin is transported to the camps by police and military forces. Some groups, such as the Black population, are sent to the camps simply for protesting the decision. Two young people, both Vietnamese Americans, arrive at one of the camps, preparing to break in and lead the people to freedom. While they scope out the area, the beautiful young woman who devised the plan asks her partner, a plain-looking young man, what he misses about their old life. Together, they reminisce about their parents' cooking, TV, magazines, and hotel rooms. The young woman knows that some people in the camp may not want to leave, even if her mission is successful. There is nowhere safe for them among the remaining civilization, so their plan is to escape to the center of America, an area occupied only by thugs and warlords and infested with zombies. The two load their guns, knowing that this camp is the first of many that they plan to lead to freedom, even if it means constant danger for themselves and their followers.