ane, aka @erejane, a thirtysomething professional web influencer with 1.7 million followers and zero dollars, lives in her spinster aunt’s spare bedroom in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Her only confidant is Brian, a potter who is thrilled that the internet allows him to connect without having to leave his Appleton home and studio. Life is about to get worse for them both.

With limited options and a dwindling bank account, Jane jumps at the chance to immerse herself in blogging about a scientific study of sharks taking place on a remote island and bird sanctuary near San Francisco. However, things fall apart when a global pandemic strikes with astonishing speed. The scientists surrounding Jane succumb one by one; meanwhile, Brian grapples with the arrival of neighbors living out their apocalyptic movie fantasies. As real-world events increasingly force them to set aside their online personas, Jane and Brian are forced to decide what—or whom—they care for the most.

Told via both traditional narrative and imagined social media posts—which often appear, as they do in life, out of chronological order—The Doomscroller’s Companion is as engaging as it is unexpected.