Smallpox epidemics, floods, droughts -- for sixteen year old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, stealing with it everyone she ever loved. Even the landscape of her beloved New York City is ever-shifting and full of hidden dangers. As the weather rages out of control, she survives alone in the woods of Central Park, hunting and foraging for food and making do with what little she has, while avoiding roving scavengers and thieves. But when an unrelenting pack of vicious hounds begins to hunt her, Lucy is not sure she can continue on her own. Then, suddenly, she is swept to saftey by a mysterious boy named Aidan, who helps her escape the hounds and urges her to join a band of survivors. Reluctantly, she joins him; however new dangers await her. An army of Sweepers terrorize the camp, carting off innocent people and infecting them with the plague. Lucy and Aidan realize that it's up to them to save their friends, but Lucy doesn't know that the Sweepers have laid a trap -- for her.There is something special about Lucy, and the Sweepers will stop at nothing to have her in their clutches.