Five hundred years into the future, Sam (the government of Merka) has covered nearly two billion acres of open land with white tarp to fight global warming. El Paladino is charged with protecting the tarp from those "cutters" who might tear up pieces to plant a garden, dig a well, or bury a body. Judge, jury, and executioner, the Paladino's motto is "You cut the Tarp, you die." The Paladino's other remit is to prevent the use of forbidden tech from previous times, which is how he came to battle el Gotico, a bandit who had discovered a cache of "oldie times" high-tech weapons. After taking down el Gotico, the Paladino has a mind to see his family. His friends Marie and Moira decide to accompany him home. But an encounter with a gang of human traffickers soon turns into a quest for vengeance. The Paladino and his amigas pursue the banditos into realms undreamed-of by any of them, including a vast swath of untarped land inhabited by secretive Natives and a sprawling, armed compound rife with forbidden technology and disturbing secrets. Will the Paladino make peace with the Natives to take on the technologically advanced teams of the Wells compound, and will he make it home in time to save his poisoned son