Mary's whole life has been dominated by fences and rules. The Sisterhood makes the rules and the Guardians make sure the rules are enforced. But the harshest rule is that the Unconsecrated will never give up. The fence that surrounds her village keeps the Unconsecrated, flesh eating zombies, out and protects the villagers from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Many of the Unconsecrated are relatives and friends of villagers. Mary life is simple but decided (she is marrying a man she does not love) and she dreams that one day she will see the mysterious ocean her mother told her of. When the fences are breached, Mary and a small group of survivors must outfox the Unconsecrated in order to survive in the Forest of Hands and Teeth. The tension and conflict among the survivors is just as riveting as their fight with the Unconsecrated. This book is difficult to put down. The author has written a suspenseful story of survival with just the right amount of creepiness.