When the bitter cold of a nuclear winter bites at a Blood Axe encampment and the grots fall into a terrifyingly compliant depression, painboy Stimma is forced to try the unthinkable. With no Red Gobbo around to stir the grots from their malaise, he must make one, using science, cunning and acts of incredible violence.

As Stimma hunts for knowledge, accompanied by the orderly grot Goggulz, he unravels the mystery of the Red Gobbo, delves into the bizarre world of ork revolushunaries, and unpacks visions that hint at the origins of grotkind.

And soon, Stimma discovers the Red Gobbo is no mere grot - and much more than he bargained for.