The only friend Tom ever had is murdered. And the emptiness of the land has not been filled by the new commune. Tom struggles to move away from his past and find peace. But all he finds is that he's good at killing. And he does just that, and comes home a hero. But this isn't normal life. This post-nuclear wasteland is treacherous, and being a hero is just the thing to get you killed.

Tom soon finds that he needs to choose his friends wisely, and that cruelty in these times is forever useful. Can he be a force for good? Will he even survive to make such a choice?