The invention of fusion power in 2151 permits economic recovery from decades of anarchy where law and order has been privatized and either totally corrupted, or, as happened in the Green Zone, locally enforced by an expert sniper, Lawrence Foster. David Sheldon sees this as an opportunity to acquire wealth and power by any means. Lawrence's daughter, Suzie, leaves the Green Zone and becomes part of a movement to have all the economy incorporated in a few giant corporations, and she uses a machine pistol to help her. Henry Adams had an ill-fated crush on Suzie, and when Lawrence dies, he has become a capable sniper, but he remains in the Green Zone and attempts to return it to free enterprise and proper law and order. When David and Suzie focus their attention on the Green Zone, only one can survive.