The movie takes place in the present, but in this universe, a plague has broken out and the infected have been transformed into zombies. No explanation is provided for the source of the plague, nor is it explained how the original victims were infected, since by the time the narrative begins the infection spreads by bite. Nevertheless, the action starts 80 years after the initial outbreak. The western United States has devolved into a disconnected series of ghost towns overrun by zombies, and the government is awarding bounties in exchange for the pinkies of the undead.

The Quick and the Undead

"Family is Everything" is the motto of the Joad brothers, a creed held so dear that the siblings will do anything to "take care of their own." Just how far the Joads will go is something that a group of friends find out when their car unfortunately breaks down in the middle of a Texas road trip. Hunted down and held hostage, the terrified travelers must endure a horrific night of torture and murder as they are forced to play a sadistic game that pits the friends against each other to satisfy the Joad's psychotic sense of southern hospitality. Helpless and terrified with fear, the friends soon realize that the nightmare has only just begun as the true secret of the Joad family is eventually revealed. A secret the Joad family will do anything to protect. For "family is everything" and the family's darkest secret lies lurking in the cellar. A secret that is very, very hungry. Now the true terror begins.