In Book One, teens across the Midwest have become “infected” with scales due to an extraterrestrial virus brought to Earth by an exploding meteor. Zack, Hilde, and Silas are confined in a quarantine center. They escape, but are hunted by the authorities and, after a harrowing journey to avoid persecution, eventually end up in Sanctuary, a Colorado refuge for scaled hybrids. Book Two, Outside In, continues their story. They have found a sense of belonging in their mountain community. But the “Anti-lizard Posse” threatens their security. Lonely and confined, Zack’s sister Zoe, who is unscaled, ventures outside the protective walls of the compound, eager to find friendship like a normal girl. As she nears puberty, she is torn by a painful choice. Should she accept the inevitable onset of the glittering scales and come to resemble everyone she loves? Or should she get the vaccine that will block her transformation and allow her to be accepted in the outside world? The Anti-lizard Posse kidnap her and hold her hostage. An unsuccessful attempt to rescue her results in two deaths, but she eventually escapes. The hybrid-hating vigilantes storm the compound, and the hybrids are forced to flee to Alaska, where they hope to find refuge.