The him lives in a desert world, long after The Fall of Civilization. Food is scarce, except for coconuts found in oases, and cannibalism is a common practice. Language is devolving as the human population dwindles. Rainfall is highly acidic, and people are forced to burrow underground when the rain falls to avoid burning to death. When children reach a certain age, most become The Children; powerful, mindless, cannibalistic monsters that only come out at night. Most people are addicted to The Drug, which makes them temporarily forget about the world that they live in. The Drug can, and does, kill. All the while, the him is searching for the one item from before the fall, the one item that survived it all: The Destroyer.