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Three centuries after a global pandemic and nuclear war, the mountains and plains of Colorado flourish with wildlife. The survivors avoid the blasted zones of “ghost-sickness,” hunt mule deer in the pine forests, and cultivate new strains of crops. Scattered tribes fight short, brutal wars and trade slaves for rifles made by a rising power in the south.

High in the Rockies a collective thrives in the still-functioning remains of a research facility. With each passing generation the true nature of the founding ancestors has become fantastical myth to most villagers, who spend their time hunting outside the valley or farming corn and hemp. Carefully selected priests serve as caretakers of the ancient machinery, doctors, and librarians of the past.

One of the hunters, a tough and resourceful teenage girl nicknamed Badger, falls unconscious with momentary, uncontrollable shaking. Wilson, a bookish apprentice priest, searches the library and the old databases for a cause to the mysterious illness. Together, he and Badger crawl through abandoned tunnels deep within the mountain. What they discover about the past forces them to choose between love for each other and the strict rules of the village.