When the Earth finally reaches it breaking point and global warming has melted the polar ice caps, a full one third of the population is wiped out and at least a third of the North American continent is submerged. From the disaster a new form of government is born and new, more stringent, laws are passed. Every offence is punishable by death. The death sentence is carried out in a gladiatorial arena in the Western Sector and it is televised to every home in America. The Gladiatorial Games serve two purposes: there are no criminals walking the streets and there are no prisons to maintain. The Games also serve as a graphic warning to the population. Want to smoke a cigarette? If you are caught you will get a death sentence. Don't want to watch the Games? Fine it's a free country, turn off the TV. But you WILL be arrested and forced to entertain the rest of the population as a gladiator