In a near-future Los Angeles, Dr. Zen Marley is torn between two conflicting realities: his buried southern roots and his preppy west coast professor persona. He must travel home to face the reality of his mother's failing mental health. But he finds an aberration: a monstrous imposter wearing the rotted shell of his mother’s skin. In a twisted case of self-defense, he kills her, but not before he is also infected. 

With his humanity eroding, Zen sets off on cross-country quest through a racially divided America to rescue his sister, find a cure, and stop the advance of the sentient flesh-eating army led by his highly intelligent, but psychotic former student. This is the first installment of The Un-United States of Z trilogy.