After retiring from the U.S. Marine Corps, Jake Carter drove for a transport boss named Duke in Alaska. Duke, burdened with a huge debt from gambling to Viper, fled overnight, leaving behind his broken truck, goods, and Ruby, with whom he had lived for many years, to Jake. When Viper's men came to arrest Jake, he defended Ruby with violence against violence and took her on the Anchorage-Fairbanks ice road. Facing theft of fuel, black ice, staged accidents, malicious deductions, blockades, and chases, Jake constantly demonstrated his abilities in combat, car repair, driving, and tactics. Ruby also grew from an abandoned woman to a partner who could manage accounts, negotiate goods, and find resources.
