In the face of an epidemic, Sarah Davis must find the courage to take risks she has never taken before if she is to save the ones she loves.
When a virus causes a global epidemic, a city in the American Southwest builds a wall that divides the city into two zones to separate the infected from the uninfected. After losing her family and taking refuge in this city, 25-year-old Sarah lives alone in a high-rise in the North Zone and teaches at a school for orphans of the epidemic. Now in the scorching heat of summer the power has gone off in the South Zone, and it’s only a matter of time until the city falls into chaos.
As the danger mounts, Sarah must figure out how to protect the people she cares about—the elderly woman who lives down the hall, the orphan Indian girl in her class, and the young black teaching assistant she has befriended. Then there’s that cat abandoned by her owner. And what of Martin, the hospital orderly from the South Zone, who has invaded her life and her heart when she thought love was a thing of the past?
". . . In the near future, there is a global epidemic that keeps getting worse everyday. After horrifically losing her family, Sarah, a school teacher, moves to a city in the southwest that has a wall keeping the infected separate from everyone else.
Sarah has always been more of a loner, but because she is kindhearted, when things begin to go south for the city she begins letting people in. There is Milo, who is keeping secrets, Martin who lives on the other side of the wall, Mrs. Franklin, her elderly neighbor that she helps out, as well as Mary, an orphan from work who she takes in. Ultimately, the book is about caring for one another and helping those who need it.
I became wrapped in Sarah's story within the first few pages. The description of the city, and the dangers within are explained wonderfully. I could not help but want to know what would happen next to all of the characters because no one knows who to trust with the city being divided and the virus spreading so quickly. I liked that people from the south side who were infected were still allowed to work within the north side of the city, as long as they were showing no physical signs of the virus. That lead to many of the plot points.
I loved that while there was a tiny bit of a romantic element to the story, most of it was concentrated on friendship and what one is willing to do to help those they love. It was a refreshing change. I will definitely be recommending this book to my friends, and will be looking for more of Ms. Madden's books to read."
"...a chilling portrayal of love and concern in a world on the brink of apocalypse."
