The world has run out of oil, and global warming has melted the polar ice caps; this is certainly not the world as we know it. Most people live in poverty and take whatever work they can find, no matter how dangerous, just so they can survive. Nailer has found work with a “light crew,” which means wriggling through the ductwork of beached tanker ships along the Gulf Coast to scavenge for scrap metals. As long as he makes quota, and doesn’t get too big to fit through the ducts, he can stay on the light crew. Nailer does his best to avoid his alcoholic/druggie father, but still begs Sadna (his best friend Pima’s mother) to save his dad as a violent hurricane blows through town. After the storm, Nailer and Pima cannot find their parents, but manage to stumble upon a shipwrecked clipper ship. The ship has enough scavenge to make them both filthy rich, but there’s one problem — the “swank” girl trapped inside. Do they kill her to keep their claim on the ship, or do they rescue her and add to their burden?