The game is set in New York in chaos, due to an epidemic on a large scale that shook the entire country during the Black Friday. In a few days the water, the food, resources, and medical care become scarce, killing the few remaining survivors. The president issues the Directive 51, a plan to combat the epidemic, failing miserably after just 15 days. The only hope lies in the special team SHD (Strategic Homeland Division), or better still, The Division, which is tasked to monitor and report to order the city, but above all to find out who and what caused the virus.