diff --git a/octodns/manager.py b/octodns/manager.py
index 0e76132..791b3ec 100644
--- a/octodns/manager.py
+++ b/octodns/manager.py
@@ -600,7 +600,12 @@ class Manager(object):
         aliased_zones = {}
         delayed_arpa = []
         futures = []
+
         for zone_name, config in zones.items():
+            if config is None:
+                raise ManagerException(
+                    f'Requested zone "{zone_name}" not found in config'
+                )
             decoded_zone_name = idna_decode(zone_name)
             self.log.info('sync:   zone=%s', decoded_zone_name)
             if 'alias' in config:
diff --git a/tests/test_octodns_manager.py b/tests/test_octodns_manager.py
index 79f4318..b93c9b8 100644
--- a/tests/test_octodns_manager.py
+++ b/tests/test_octodns_manager.py
@@ -79,6 +79,13 @@ class TestManager(TestCase):
             )
         self.assertTrue('missing sources' in str(ctx.exception))
 
+    def test_missing_zone(self):
+        with self.assertRaises(ManagerException) as ctx:
+            Manager(get_config_filename('dynamic-config.yaml')).sync(
+                ['missing.zones.']
+            )
+        self.assertTrue('Requested zone ' in str(ctx.exception))
+
     def test_missing_targets(self):
         with self.assertRaises(ManagerException) as ctx:
             Manager(get_config_filename('provider-problems.yaml')).sync(