Following war and the release of a plague that killed over 70% of the American population, civilization ceased to function, and everyone was left to their own devices. Violence, sickness and death undermined what remained of humanity, and the world devolved into slavers, long distance traders, and scavengers. Stephen Quinn III was born into this world, and for the last fifteen years he, his father, mother, and grandfather have traveling up and down the East Coast, trading and scavenging. Stephen lost his mother to childbirth, and he just lost his grandfather to illness. Iron-willed, grandfather always had an answer and knew where to go next. Now, it's just Stephen and his dad.
It's only been a few days since grandfather died, but already Stephen's father is moving away from the ideals that grandfather had instilled in Stephen. When his father decides to play the hero and rescue two captives of slavers, Stephen is dumbfounded but reluctantly goes along, only for everything to go wrong. With his father in a coma, Stephen is captured by a group of villagers who built a haven in the forest.
As his father lies unconscious in Violet Green's home, Stephen meets her son Jackson, and their daughter Jenny. Jenny is Chinese, and she's the first Chinese person Stephen has ever met. When the United States were attacked by China a few decades ago, the enemy was Chinese. No one know where Jenny came from, but she was adopted by the Greens. Hated by some and sneered at by others, Jenny is a free spirit who longs to explore the world. For his part, Jackson is quiet but loves to play baseball.
Stephen is torn. On the one hand, he loves the idea that this community survived and still holds ideals of family and love. On the other hand, he knows this can't last, and as an outsider everything he does is suspicious. Can Stephen overcome his fight or flight instinct to make himself a home in this new land?
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