Former United Nations investigator Gerry Lane, his wife, Karin, and their two daughters, Rachel and Connie, are in heavy Philadelphia traffic when the city is overrun by zombies; Gerry discovers it takes 12 seconds for an infection to complete. As chaos spreads, the Lanes escape to Newark and take refuge in an apartment with a couple and their young son, Tommy. They are rescued by a helicopter sent by U.N. Deputy Secretary-General