In a world devastated by an unseen horror that drives people to savage violence at a mere glance, Malorie and her two children exist in a realm of darkness and fear. Sheltering in a deserted home near the river, with only their heightened senses and rigorous training to guide them, they've survived for years in the oppressive quiet, the windows shrouded, the doors securely fastened. Now, as the children reach the age of four, Malorie is determined to embark on a perilous journey—a blindfolded odyssey down the river that promises a chance at salvation, but is fraught with untold dangers. With memories of the past, when civilization thrived under the protection of a man named Tom and a group of survivors who became family, her mind is torn between hope and dread. Each stroke of the oar carries them further from the sheltered life they've known, and closer to the unknown entities that lurk just beyond their blindfolds. As Malorie navigates the treacherous currents, both in the river and her mind, she confronts the haunting question of trust in a world that's fallen apart.