In the early days of New Dakota's re-settlement, Jessil and Soraj find themselves assigned to a program designed to ensure the survival of their fledgling colony—but the program will exact a toll neither is ready to pay. To help them escape participation, they seek the help of Captain Monumba, who has been stripped of her powers. Can the trio make a fresh start in the wilds beyond the settlement? Or will their chances be threatened by a plot set in motion before the nuclear holocaust even began?