After Earth experiences a long and extreme drought, the world is consolidated into one government under the United States. Vivian is a wealthy widow living in Bellville, South Africa, a city that is nicknamed Brandy City. In the aftermath of the drought, all the wealthy people moved away to Cape Town and paid their way for water. Those left behind now survive off a dop system that rewards them with alcohol for work. Vivian is lucky to live in the nice part of town and escape the rampant alcoholism in Brandy City, which even affects the youngest children. Although the US government calls it the Free World, Vivian knows they are living in a slave system that convinces people they are free. Vivian’s husband passed away years ago and left her a huge amount of insurance money. She now runs a sex business that serves food on the naked bodies of women. When helping her worker, Tanya, prepare for customers, Vivian finds herself deeply attracted to her. It has been years since she has wanted to physically be with someone, and she thinks of Tanya before falling asleep at night. Meanwhile, Tanya’s boyfriend, Graeme, has caught on to the nature of Tanya’s job after seeing some pictures online. Their relationship is extremely tense as they both struggle to make ends meet. Graeme goes to a car race with a friend and then heads to a popular bar in Brandy City. The place is packed as usual, and Vivian and Tanya are also there, but separately. Vivian watches enviously as Tanya laughs with her other employees. When Graeme arrives, he confronts her about working in the sex industry, and they are able to patch up their relationship. While flirting with each other, Graeme goes to light his cigarette, and Tanya jokingly takes the match. They repeat this process multiple times until the match is accidentally dropped onto the alcohol-stained floor. Vivian watches as the flames quickly engulf the entire bar, and people scramble to escape. Both Graeme and Tanya catch on fire, and she realizes there is no more water to put the fire out. As everything burns up, Vivian calmly stands there and accepts there is no chance for escape.