Diana Ward looks in the mirror and considers the changes she’s made to her appearance. Her hair is dull brown, a change from her usual expensive highlights. Her world has collapsed, and her belongings will all have to be left behind. Diana is used to being the smartest person in the room, but someone outwitted her, and she’s going to have to run.

Two men lie on her floor—she already killed one, and the other is still barely alive. She shoots him twice in the head, grabs her go bag, and leaves to find out who is trying to kill her.

Maggie Bird looks into the woods for the predator that is killing her chickens. She sees an animal watching her, reaches into her RTV, and pulls out her rifle. She shoots, and the animal runs into the woods. Maggie follows—she knows she has hit, although maybe not killed, her target.

Hiking through the deep snow is hard—she is 60 years old, and past injuries, including a bad ankle from a parachute drop, plague her. Finally, she finds the fox responsible for the killing, dead in the snow. She takes it back to her RTV, knowing Luther Yount will want the pelt.