Book three of the Compound Series is about the trials of Lily "Jackie" Schwartz as she protects a small group of exiles from a dangerous society. It has been just less than a year since terrorists carried out world-wide attacks which crippled or destroyed most governments. Even where there were no attacks, the ensuing chaos ravaged the area. Lily is adept at using the rifle she carries and the pistol stuffed in her waistband. When the utilities failed, she and the women with her scavenged what they could, loaded it into Marie's large van, and fled south seeking a safe location near a river. Along the way, they rescued a young mother and her baby from a brutal man who had kidnapped her. He continued to menace them as they traveled. While avoiding him, they happened upon an abandoned farm near a large river. Now their scavenged food supplies are gone and their best option is to scavenge in the nearby-possibility violent-town or starve.