The night when six strange lights appear in the sky and the moon disappears, the world as they know it ceases to exist. Most of the people are gone-reduced to dust and bones. Only small groups of children and a few adults remain, but their lives soon become a living hell as they run and hide, pursued by a monster and its army of unusual creatures whose very existence depends on finding live humans. Daniel Bryant, a medical doctor-in-training, is touring the American heartland when all hell breaks loose. An unknown being dubbed "the Beast" and its army of unusual creatures have invaded the earth. They are "killing machines"annihilating humans to provide a blood supply to ensure their survival. While searching for a safe place to hide, Daniel encounters several two young childrenEmma, whose family has been slaughtered and Ethan, who has been grievously wounded. Daniel saves his life. In search of shelter and food, Daniel, Ethan, and Emma encounter other children and a young adult woman, Samantha Spencer. A kind of family unit forms. Day after day, the number of survivors grows in direct proportion to the dangers they face. Soon all of the "family" members begin experiencing nightmares. They see things that seem real, but when they wake up, they find that what seemed real isn'tand often too late to prevent other tragedies. They finally come to realize that there's a traitor among them-Ethan. Although he appears to be a normal boy, in reality he's a dead entity whose sole purpose is to locate other groups of children to supply food for the beast. Pretending to be innocent, Ethan plots to destroy the family, systematically causing those who cannot be used by the beast to be eliminated. Despite their difficult circumstances, Daniel and Samantha fall in love and devote themselves to the task of keeping their makeshift family together. They accept each other as husband and wife. Much to Ethan's delight, Samantha becomes pregnant. The traitor's mission has been accomplished--the "breeders" (Daniel and Samantha) have fulfilled their purposepropagation of the species. Run and hide, seek and destroywho will win this life and death struggle for survival?