Briar Wilkes is a widow living with her teenaged son in the outskirts of the city of Seattle in an alternate 19th century. Sixteen years earlier her husband, Leviticus Blue, created a digging machine that went wrong and destroyed part of the city and unleashed a toxic fog that killed people and reanimated their corpses.
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Since then city has been walled off to contain the mists that still rise from underground and it is forbidden to enter.
Now she lives a poor and lonely life, working hard to support herself and her son Zeke and keeping her head down and using her maiden name, since her association with Leviticus Blue has caused her grief. Her relationship with Zeke is strained by her silence over his father and the events in Seattle.
She returns home one day and finds that Zeke has left to sneak into Seattle in an attempt to clear his father's name. Afraid for him she follows to bring him home, taking a gas mask and the rifle belonging to her legendary lawman father who was a hero during the fall of Seattle.
She first attempts to enter through a drainpipe which is the only way into the city by ground, but an earthquake seals that off. She seeks an alternate route over the wall and finds an airship captain willing to drop her off.
Once inside she encounters "rotters", the fog animated corpses that roam the streets. She is surprised at their numbers given the time that has passed but soon finds out that there is a population of criminals, outcasts, and refugees that make their home in the ruins. Hidden from authorities they travel the roofs wearing gasmasks and build sealed rooms to keep the mist out. There is also an illicit trade in a drug called "lemon sap" which is made from the toxic mist.
She is chased by a mob of rotters and escapes to the rooftops where she is rescued by an eccentric named Jeremiah who recognizes her name and takes her to an underground bar named after her father. Given her relation to him the locals are friendly and offer to help her find Zeke. But before that can happen the bar is attacked by rotters. They all evacuate and afterwards it is discovered that the attack was orchestrated by a criminal mastermind named Minnericht who invented lemon sap and whom some believe is Leviticus Blue.
It turns out that Zeke is being held hostage by Minnericht. Briar has to go rescue him, and settle the question of whether he is her dead husband or not.
Best part of story, including ending:
The walled city populated by zombies and survivors living by their wits was scary and fun.
Best scene in story:
Briar meeting Jeremiah and seeing him use his anti-rotter device.
Opinion about the main character:
She's understandably angry at her circumstances, but very determined and capable under pressure.
