While trying to track down info on "the Burners", a mysterious group that's burning down whole settlements in seemingly random fashion, Jeremiah encounters a woman who's stealing all the gas she can get her hands on, and Kurdy ends up helping a pregnant girl, against his better judgment.

Jeremiah and Kurdy are sent to contact an elusive group led by a mysterious "Steve" but get captured. One of his captors is Michelle, a woman he met (in flashback) back at his empty home five years ago after his brother died. They were intimately involved back then, and we find out she's the one who gave Jeremiah the idea for writing notes to his dead father. In the present it turns out "Steve" is Michelle. Her operation is working heavily to get knowledge out, and she also has a 5-year old son. One guy accuses Michelle of skimming and the guys follow her and find out she's collecting art, and agrees to work with Thunder Mountain. Then Michelle comes back to lay down the law on the guy who accused her of skimming and the guys head out with as Jeremiah and Michelle think about getting together in the future.

Realizing that Valhalla Sector is systematically taking control of the Nuclear Missile Silos starting from the east coast and moving east to-wards Thunder Mountain (Cheyenne Mountain) Marcus decided to make their Presence Known at a nearby town that has a missile silo, they offer men machines electricity and medicine, in hopes of winning over the people of the town and make an ally of the people so they can stop the advance of the people of Valhalla sector, but Ezekiel appears and is seen by Jeremiah talking to Chen, suspecting something wrong he chases after Ezekiel but is knocked out by Chen from behind, when Jeremiah wakes up he runs to warn Marcus that something bad is going to happen when he is struck down by a snipers bullet fired by Ezekiel in a nearby building.