Animals are acting strangely. Assault cases are on the rise. A few people have gone missing. There's a sickness in Western New York. A new disease is making the rounds. Actually, it's a really old disease with some fancy new upgrades. The unlucky folks who get infected are becoming violent, paranoid, and hungry.
Rabies has been around forever, but it rarely causes a stir in the developed world. We have inoculations for our pets, awareness programs in schools, and vaccines readily available for anyone who happens to have an unpleasant encounter with a wild animal. Rabies is happy to kill you, but it's sluggish, underdeveloped, and too slow to be a perennial threat.
Facing irrelevancy and eradication, the virus makes a few changes to its structure. The mutation makes the illness more transmissible and virtually eliminates the incubation period. It also makes the virus a lot more lethal- but not for the host. The infected become delusional and aggressive, determined to destroy and consume everything in their path.
Late Arrival follows a handful of unprepared, underachieving dummies as they try to navigate their way through the chaos and find a way to survive. They're not soldiers or doctors or FBI agents. They're definitely not heroes. To be honest, they're barely functional. Don't expect them to save the day. They can barely take care of themselves, even when their neighbors aren't trying to murder them.