When 95 percent of the earth's population disappears for no apparent reason, Mira does what she can to create some semblance of a life: She cobbles together a haphazard community named Zion, scavenges the Piles for supplies they might need, and avoids loving anyone she can't afford to lose. Four years after the Rending, Mira's best friend, Lana, announces her pregnancy. But when Lana gives birth to an inanimate object --- and other women of Zion follow suit --- the thin veil of normalcy Mira has thrown over her new life begins to fray. Then a confident outsider named Michael lures Lana away, and Mira must decide how much she's willing to let go in order to save her friend, her home, and her own fraught pregnancy.