characters in the wake of the
same biological catastrophe
depicted in Atwood's earlier
novels in the trilogy. The
narrative starts with Ren and
Toby (protagonists in The
Year of the Flood) rescuing
another survivor (Amanda
Payne) from two criminals,
who had been previously
emotionally hardened by
a colosseum-style game
called Painball. Ren and Toby
meet up with Jimmy, the
main p