This tale is about a post-American girl in 2512, who grows into womanhood under the boot of dictatorship. Since The Final War, her region somewhere in former Northern California has been ruled by oppressive local governments, called Companies. Like many others, Ashlee is forced to endure a slave laborer's life before becoming a soldier. While engaging a rival company, she is injured and left for dead. But a clan of escaped soldiers finds her and nurtures her back to health. Ashlee and her adopted family experience one heart-stopping adventure after another as they march south in an effort to find a safe haven. They are hunted, imprisoned and worse as barbaric tribes and company patrols attack them. But they fight on with an undying desire to be free. Will they ever find peace?