Mary lives in a village protected by a fence and surrounded by the Forest of Hands and Teeth. The Unconsecrated, who live in the forest, hunger for the humans of the village. The village is on constant alert to fend off attacks from these undead. Mary is in love with Travis, but it is his brother and her childhood friend, that asks for her hand in marriage. Circumstances change and Mary is thrust into the care of the Sisterhood, a group of nuns who have great power in the village and hide some terrible secrets. Mary is up against some difficult choices, when life as she knows it abruptly changes sending her into the Forest of Hands and Teeth.