 At the beginning of the novel, Marianne has lost her brother and mother, and only her father survives.However, she has become tired of the sedentary lifestyle and runs away from the enclave to join Jewel, an articulate and intelligent leader of a barbarian tribe, but then becomes concerned at her chattel status in a society that has rigid patriarchal concepts of what constitutes appropriate gender roles.Marianne becomes pregnant after Jewel sexually assaults her but she then sexually assaults an intellectually disabled male tribal member.