 The company they work for, the Haulage & HazMat Emergency Civil Freebooting Company is hired by Jorgmund to deal with power failures and a fire that has broken out on the Jorgmund pipe itself, endangering the "backbone" of their world and their very existence.As the company sets off, the unnamed protagonist starts thinking about his past, from the day he first met Gonzo.It recounts his relationship with Elizabeth Soames, whom he meets as a youth studying martial arts under the tutelage of Master Wu.