A young Black woman named Rakaya waits in the futuristic shop of Big Mama Black. The setting is a dystopian version of Chicago, rife with tension between guilds that use different types of advanced technology to survive in the world heated up by climate change.

Rakaya belongs to a terrorist group who believes, "as most State of Illinois residents do," that despot rulers of Chicago stole wealth and power from the State of Illinois. This group has given Rakaya a special suit, which she talks to throughout the story. On the orders of her Assassin Guild, Rakaya bombed a part of Chicago. She killed hundreds of people, including her boyfriend Roshan––Big Mama Black's son.

Rakaya has since paid for Roshan's memories to be restored in an android version of his old self. She feels constant guilt about his death, which she represses by trying to convince herself that she is not a terrorist and that she does not love Roshan. Her suit, on the other hand, asserts that she manipulated Roshan into loving her to reciprocate her own feelings.

After enduring criticism from Big Mama Black and the other women at the shop, Rakaya meets with Roshan. Rakaya asks Roshan if he still loves her.