Lucy is a Hired Hand, a person who will take almost any job - for the right price. Need a kitten saved? Hire Lucy. Need someone killed? Hire Lucy. Her latest client is pregnant and dying. The Red Death will kill her in less than a year. If the baby is born disease free, they'll need a parent. Lucy's task? Find the father, who is headed to the mines on the West Coast.

It's eighty years since the first Bombardment. Humanity has survived, but barely. High heat signatures, from large cities or industry, bring more Bombardments. Hence, technology has been taken back to the Old West, and in some cases further back.

The Rail is the most reliable way to get across the country, but Lucy hates traveling in the Under. She'll bite the bullet, though, even for a journey she feels has little chance of success. She'll get paid either way.