Free Southern government in Lincolnton, Georgia, on the border with South Carolina. The two sisters are joined by Simon, who is suffering from a bullet wound to the brain. Five years later, in 2086, the Chestnut siblings settle in to their new lives. While Sarat has become a member of Gaines' rebel group, the broken Simon is tended by a Bangladeshi American woman, named Karina. As time passes, Simon and Karina develop romantic feelings for each other. During a guerrilla operation near a U.S. base along the Georgia-Tennessee border, Sarat assassinates General Joseph Weiland, a prominent U.S. commander. While Sarat is hailed as a hero by the Free Southern States, Weiland's assassination only hardens the U.S. government's resolve to end the Southern rebellion and leads to a crackdown against the Southern guerrillas. Sarat eventually grows disillusioned with the corrupt and self-serving Southern leadership. Later, Dana is killed when a rogue drone bombs a bus in which she is traveling. Sarat is later captured by U.S. forces and imprisoned at the Sugarloaf Detention Facility, in the Florida Sea. Sarat later learns her mentor Gaines betrayed her to the U.S. For the next seven years, Sarat is repeatedly tortured, including being subjected to waterboarding. To end the torment, Sarat confesses to numerous exaggerated charges. Sarat is later released after the U.S. government deems Gaines to be an unreliable source. Years later, Simon has married Karina, and they have a son, Benjamin. In 2095, the 6-year-old Benjamin meets his aunt, Sarat, who settles down on Benjamin's homestead. Sarat is later visited by one of her former rebel comrades, who informs her that his group has captured Bud Baker, one of her former Sugarloaf captors who tortured her. Sarat kills Bud but decides to spare his family after she discovers that his two teenage sons are twins. Back at Simon''s household, tensions between Sarat and Karina rise after Benjamin sustains a broken arm, and Sarat binds it with a crude splint. Benjamin is intrigued by Sarat and realizes that his aunt is still haunted by the attack at Camp Patience, her time as an insurgent, and her torture at Sugarloaf. As his arm recovers, Benjamin becomes friendly with his aunt. Sarat is later visited by Joe, the Bouazizi agent, who recruits her into carrying a deadly virus during the Reunification Ceremony in Columbus, Ohio. Joe reveals that his real name is Yousef Bin Rashid,