Jonnie Goodboy Tyler was raised in a small, dying village in the mountains near Denver, Colorado. Among people who were average height, Jonnie Goodboy stood half a head taller, a muscular six feet shining with the bronzed health of his twenty years.

Growing up, Jonnie was always considered a bit of a trial, always asking questions and stirring things up—refusing to believe the tales of deadly clouds wiping out great villages, and monsters lurking beyond the valley.

When Jonnie was twenty his father died, and out of frustration and guilt he defies his elders and embarks on a quest to find a better place for his people—where the food is abundant and they will not be plagued by sickness.