When conditions crashed and people had to fight to survive, the Haze family chose to fight in the desert. East of the Mississippi isolated wall cities protected crowds of people wanting to be left alone. A few migrant workers kept on the move hoping to avoid ruffians looking for trouble. The Blacktowers made a place for themselves by planting and harvesting in widely separated eastern farms of close knit communities. Chester Blacktower moved his extensive family in steam powered trucks, but eventually the fight came to Chester's family. Jane's heart was pounding as never before, and she had to force herself to take a quivering breath of air. Someone was outside the back door. She could hear whispering but she couldn't tell how many were there.

A hand came in through the open window and the door was pushed open. Four heads were silhouetted in the doorway, and she could make out rifles pointed her way. After the fight Jane, Chester's daughter, along with with other family members, met the last of the Haze Clan as they attempted to cross the Red Clay Desert.