The post-war world is brutal. The relentless hardship and repeated exposure to the worst of human nature have drained the will to live from almost everyone. No one would believe that hope is possible here. Then the narrator meets Emma — a young woman who claims to be a military robot. She asks to travel together and offers everything she has. Strange, expressionless, and without common sense, Emma gradually reveals a sadness she has been carrying alone. As the narrator spends more time with her, the weight of the doomsday world grows lighter — until suffering approaches again, and the two must decide together whether to face it or run.