Marla resides in the richest household in Muldraugh, wife to late county sheriff Stanford Murdoch, now widowed. It's been a while since she'd done any manual labor, but her hands carry memories of working the soil once. Marla is a capable gardener of plants and souls. Compassionate, patient, and recently widowed, she is ready to make plans for becoming the head of Murdoch household, now numbering a total of one. Immune to the airborne infection, she is God's chosen one. In high heels with a .38 revolver, she's ready to take up gardening again and use some fresh brains as fertilizer. But don't forget to relax come night time, with a bottle of Knob Creek or a glass of Glenlivet. The doors will hold if heart does.

Mrs. Murdoch is an avid socialite who now took the Radio Dish Van over for Bella and Elizabeth, and controls a manor on the river bank west of West Point. She does not attempt to bring anyone together on purpose, but her attitude seems to gravitate survivors naturally, with a promise of parties, memories of old times, and a resurgence of normality. Marla uses alcohol and luxury to pretend the world has not changed, and fiercely, jealously guards and maintains that fragile bubble of illusion within the range of her weapons and to the extent of her skills. Albeit a spoiled and indulgent aristocrat, Marla had been proving herself a capable outdoors woman and shrewd survivor through the winter and spring when many experienced others have perished.