Red never had it easy. After she lost her mom to cancer at a very young age, she was raised by her father to be tough. He meant well, he really did. But since she lacked female role models, she grew up a diamond in the rough. Tougher than most men and headstrong to boot, she was socially awkward and shunned by many women. But she attracted men anyway. They couldn't help themselves. She was beautiful and genuine. She stood up for the oppressed, and took no guff from anyone. Many men were intimidated by her, but not Russell. Russell saw Red for what she really was... an unpolished gem and an amazing woman. He was man enough to tame her. For a while, anyway. The world went black, as solar storms sent powerful electromagnetic pulses to knock out anything which ran on electricity. But that was only the beginning. Russell and Red's young son, Rusty, were killed when their home mysteriously exploded. Red retreated to the deep woods to find solace, as she'd done periodically since she was a child. The forest had a way of wrapping its arms around her and comforting her. And helping her to regain her bearings. Each time in the past, Red had returned from her self-imposed exiles to find the world a much easier place to deal with. But not this time. This time she returned to find her father dead as well. Murdered by a band of greedy thugs for reasons she couldn't fathom. She didn't understand why he had to die as well. But she intended to find out. In this installment Red learns that the man who carried out the murders has absconded. Tracking him in a world where few machines exist wouldn't be easy. But again, nothing had ever been easy for Red. Difficult tasks didn't deter her, so she set off on a three hundred mile journey to find Jesse Luna. To find out for sure who hired him, and who else was involved. She intended to take him into custody and see him tried for murder. But a very big part of her wanted him to resist. So she could administer her own brand of justice instead.