In the post-apocalyptic New York City, war veterans Deunan Knute and Briareos Hecatonchires fight to survive the ruined city. They are forced to take jobs for Two Horns, a cyborg gangster and self-proclaimed "mayor" of the city, in order to provide Briareos with power to sustain his cyborg systems. After botching transport of vaccine, Deunan and Briareos take another job to destroy and scavenge bipedal attack drones. But before they could attack, an armoured vehicle carrying three cyborgs and a human woman get attacked by the drones. As two cyborgs are killed, Deunan and Briareos intervene and save the survivors. The survivors introduce themselves as Olson, the cyborg, and Iris, the human. The two are on a mission but are reluctant to disclose what it is.