Ryan Cawdor and his band of post-holocaust survivors barely excape a self-destructing redoubt in the new southwest and embark on a journey overland to find the nearest gateway. But without an adequate supply of food and water, their quest is doomed.

Ryan strikes a deal with the leader of a wagon train heading west: protection against all attackers in exchange for food and water.

It is a deal that pits the one-eyed warrior against his oldest enemy a sadistic, ruthless man who would stop at nothing to get his hands on Ryan Cawdor.

In the Deathlands, everyone and everything is fair game, but only the strongest survive