After an unimaginable personal loss of her children, spouse, and parents, Katie retreats from society. She moves to a house on its own island, Jacob’s Ladder, with no other human inhabitants. She spends her days in self-imposed isolation focused only on her paintings and on the journals of previous residents of her house.

Something goes wrong on the neighboring island of Ringrock, a government research facility. A massive deployment of military assets scour the water and islands near the facility, but no word ever reaches Katie of their target.

Two government agents arrive on her island to conduct a search, but they refuse to explain more. When she decides to leave for the safety of the mainland, she discovers they have incapacitated her boat preventing her exit.

Unsure about the extent of the threat, Katie prepares to defend herself, but is surprised to learn she has an ally. A young girl lives on a neighboring island with her parents who work at Ringrock. But the girl has discovered what’s really happening—and what is about to happen that’s far worse than can be imagined. Together, the two of them must work together if civilization has a hope of surviving.