Twelve years ago, a global pandemic known as the Job virus decimated the world’s population. One city withstood the virus by going into lockdown during the early days of the pandemic, erecting a massive barricade wall to insulate themselves from the sick and the dying. Now called Vita Nova—meaning New Life—the city is overcrowded, and its resources are quickly dwindling. The area outside the wall, known as the Unregulated Zone, is a vast wasteland filled with crumbling buildings, overgrown highways, and the Lawless: brutal bands of marauders intent on breeching the barricade and claiming the city’s resources for themselves.

To combat the problem of overcrowding, the leadership of Vita Nova has implemented two programs: The Compulsory Program, which requires that anyone over the age of 60—or anyone who requires medical treatment for a chronic illness—undergo a humane euthanization procedure. There is also the Volunteer Program, which offers residents the chance to be revered at a public ceremony and receive a Final Week of luxury, gifts, and praise...in exchange for giving up their lives for the good of all.

After losing her mother as a Compulsory, Kira Liebert became a volunteer advocate for Vita Nova. She works closely with the Volunteers, arranging their stay at Rolling Meadows, a lavish, country-club estate where Volunteers spend their last few days. She also fulfills any special requests they might have for their Final Week. But when young, handsome Will Foster enters her office, wishing to end his life as a Volunteer, he has just one request for his Final Week. He wants to spend it with Kira.

Unable to refuse the Volunteer’s last request, Kira gets swept into Will’s world and goes somewhere she never thought she’d go: beyond the barricade. With the end of Will’s Final Week approaching, Kira realizes that Vita Nova is not the utopian sanctuary she once thought it was. And some people—the truly brave ones—will sacrifice everything to prove it.