Mark is joined in this endeavor by two other survivors named Kaitlyn and Gary, and together three form the Omega Unit.Īt the beginning of the novel, Mark is nearly killed by a group of four skels who had been trapped in a locked room of an office building. Told over a three-day period–with frequent flashbacks to Mark's life before the plague and in the early days following–the plot follows Mark as he works as a 'sweeper' tasked with killing the remaining skels and stragglers in a fortified area of Manhattan named Zone One. In the novel’s final scene, he descends into the mass gathering of skels.Zone Onefollows protagonist Mark Spitz as he struggles to survive in the aftermath of a plague that has turned the vast majority of the population into zombified 'skels' and 'stragglers. He has no choice but to fight his way through the crowd. He leaves the truck to go find his team when he encounters many skels amassing on the street. He escapes in a truck with the remaining officials, learning from the survivors that there is never going to be a summit and that reconstruction may not be possible. Upon returning to Fort Wonton to get help for his team, he realizes that the base is being swarmed by hundreds of skels.

He determines that the skels are evolving into more intelligent forms. Mark notices the cunning speed of this particular straggler and puts this information together with his recollections of other advancing skels from his past. On the last day, Omega is patrolling the area when Gary is suddenly attacked by a straggler. Despite these disasters, officials from the main military headquarters in Buffalo attempt to maintain a hopeful public face, promising that Zone One will be ready for rebuilding soon. Mark finds out that the Lieutenant has committed suicide and that Bubbling Brooks, a renowned stronghold, has been destroyed by skels. When they encounter another team in their area, they attempt to contact Fort Wonton to find out why their duties have overlapped. As the end grows near, Mark reveals more of his sentimental past and hope for the future.ĭuring the three days, team Omega continue their sweeps of Zone One. He also reflects on his early encounters with skels as a recruit at Fort Wonton, especially through the eccentric mentorship by his superior, the Lieutenant. He manages to barely escape to safety and is eventually rescued by the U.S. He also tells of the various human settlements in Connecticut and Massachusetts that he joined briefly during the early days of the virus. For instance, Mark recalls finding his infected mother feasting on his father’s entrails. While the novel is primarily told in real time, Mark’s flashbacks are interspersed throughout the narrative. Zone One takes place over the course of three days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), leading up to the eventual total takeover of Zone One by the virus.

Colson whitehead's zone one