Neon City

In the wastelands of the 2050s, ex-cop Harry Stark saves a woman named Reno from mutant raiders. She pulls a knife on him, and he knocks her unconscious to bring her back to town for her bounty. This rescue sets Stark on a perilous path toward Neon City.

Captain Raymond, Stark's former commanding officer, declares that Reno must be delivered to Neon City to claim the bounty. He offers Stark a shotgun escort on the transport, but Stark refuses. The encounter seeds distrust between the two men.

Stark's truck explodes under suspicious circumstances, and Raymond accuses mutant terrorists. Stark fights back, is knocked unconscious, and wakes up onboard the transport with Reno, effectively a prisoner.

The transport carries Bulk, Tom, Dickie, Sandy, Twink, Wing, and others. Raymond offers a refund to anyone who wants to drop out, but all choose to continue toward Neon City. The caravan presses on despite escalating danger.

The crew passes through a deadly Xander Cloud and stops at a radiation-stricken family. Stark buys a euthanasia kit from Devine and donates it to the grateful family, a gesture Reno harshly condemns.

At the first outpost, mutant raiders kill almost everyone. Bulk's sister is entrusted to Tom, who pretends to help her but murders her when others leave. Reno saves Twink, Stark retrieves her, and Stark proposes skipping the escort; Reno sides with the majority.

The group stops at a restaurant staffed by mutants, and the crew treats the staff with equality. Mutant raiders attack again, Devine is wounded, and the group jettisons cargo to escape.

During the road raid, Tom murders Devine after a brutal temperature change known as a 'bright'. The group buries Devine and continues.

Inside a shelter, Tom tries to force himself on Reno; she fights him off and Stark consoles her. Reno reveals she killed her foster parents by accident while fleeing a child prostitution ring, and the two share a night of intimacy. Stark declines Reno's plea to run away together.

Bulk realizes Wing is really Dr. Xander, the scientist behind much of the ecological damage. Xander explains he was trying to solve the world's problems and might reverse the damage if he reaches a proper laboratory. Bulk vows not to turn him in, and the journey continues.

In the next mutant raid they run out of ammunition. Xander improvises a laser weapon to save them, but Sandy is shot and dies as the transport dies. The crew faces a harsher trek toward Neon City with dwindling resources.

Xander elects to leave for the border, while the rest walk toward Neon City, which is nearby. The group presses on with dwindling supplies and increasing fatigue.

They reach Neon City, where Twink expedites their entry and helps Stark navigate a tense relationship with Jenkins, the city's police commander. Sandy dies of a massive drug overdose soon after arrival, underscoring the toll of the journey.

Tom is exposed as a killer and takes Reno hostage, prompting Stark to kill him in a tense confrontation. A standoff with Jenkins ensues, but Reno calms Stark and they depart Neon City together.

As they leave Neon City, Stark tells Jenkins that his prisoner Reno died during transport to spare trouble, allowing them to depart with Dr. Xander joining their group.