In the year 2171, a man named Adam Hazard tells a story as an adult looking back on his early life at age 17. Adam is friends with Julian Comstock and they both live in a country called Athabasca. When he and Julian were 17, they lived in the same town together and were both tutored by their teacher Sam. The previous world order has been destroyed and as a result, all older cities seem to be demolished except for New York and some other cities. The world is technologically primitive; there are no cars or machines, and people travel by horse and wagon. There's also no electricity, and the population knows very little about science and history. However, books from the ancient turn up from time to time and are sold on the black market. These books talk about men on the moon, which no one believes is real. Julian Comstock's uncle rules Athabasca. Additionally, Athabasca is a Christian country and seems to be perpetually at war with the government of Labrador. One day, Julian, Sam, and Adam travel to a place called the Tip to buy books sold by scavengers who look for items of interest from the ruins of the old cities. Some consider Julian to be a heretic because he believes that people have been on the moon and understands the medical and scientific achievements of the Old World. The New World order teaches the Christian faith and discredits any teachings from the past. Julian, Sam, and Adam return to their town and attend a political election, where the politicians talk about the military victories of the country and the heroic deeds of the current president, Julian's uncle.  Julian finds out that the government will start drafting young men to serve in the army at the meeting. Julian believes that his uncle will put him in the military and have him killed. Julian and Adam try to quietly and secretly escape the forum and do so. Julian rides on his horse out of town and asks Adam to go to Sam's house without notice. He then tells Sam that he should meet Julian at one of the ruins near the Tip where the books were found. Adam rides to Sam's house to tell him the news about Julian and then returns return to his house where his parents are waiting for him to celebrate Christmas morning. On the way, Adam meets the city leader, a Reverend, who talks to him about the draft and explains to him the virtue of signing up for the army even though it's tempting to stay at home and enjoy the comforts of home. The Reverend then rides out in front of Adam to attend to some other business. Adam turns his horse around and rides out to find Julian at the Tip. However, when he arrives, he finds Julian being held captive by a soldier with a gun. The soldier has been charged with rounding up deserters in the army and views both Adam and Julien as deserters. The soldier says they will wait until morning when he expects reinforcements to aid him During the night, the soldier smokes marijuana and becomes drowsy. Julian and Adam notice several snakes approach the campfire for warmth. The snakes crawl over the soldier's shoe, startling the soldier. This gives Julian and Adam a chance to disarm the soldier and tie him up. Sam arrives shortly after that, and they decide to go to New York City.