Absolute power has shifted to the corporations. Gone is the subtlety of operating in the shadows, or using the government as a proxy for their actions. With the middle class all but abolished, corporations rule from shrinking islands of power in the form of metropolises, while the rest of America falls to the Desert, a wasteland without law or order where the ignoble are cast. Jaron Shen is part of Kamiken's elite security force on a mission to capture sensitive equipment from a rival corporation. The team discovers what they are looking for is a small girl named Jessica Seymour. When the mission goes bad and they are ordered to kill her, Jaron refuses, turns on his team, and flees. Now he is on the run, hiding from one of the most powerful organizations on earth. Also, he talks to his dead wife.