2100: Career thief Sol Brightman, his mentor Padre Castillo, and a third man called Norbert rob a bank of two bitcoin data boxes of gold in Lady Sonora’s Colony on the moon of Io. Colony Police track them, catch them celebrating in an “oxy-bar”, and kill Norbert. Padre and Sol escape, but get trapped in an open area with nowhere to hide and only one Sandcycle between them. Sol figures the police will be "swarming all over us inside an hour." They decide one partner might succeed in driving to a nearby township and return with more transportation. They gamble for it, with Sol fixing it so his pal, Padre, can be the one to go.
Padre gets to a hangar and stores the bitcoin data boxes inside of a rover, but he gets second thoughts. He casts one eye towards a point on the ridge sure to be taken by the colony police, and with the other he gazes off in the opposite direction, towards the border and safety. One way leads to danger and a poor chance at survival with half the loot, the other towards certain safety with all the spoils. After a short moment of reflection he leaves his friend to be taken by the colony police. Sol is arrested and transported to prison by way of the township, where he learns firsthand of Padre's betrayal.
Sol spends five hard years in a solid-state prison (suspended animation). He escapes with new partner Bishop Tucker and goes hunting for Padre. He discovers Padre has become the sheriff of Habitat 1A, the first settled area of Io. Instead of ambushing him, Sol gives him a chance to explain why he left him on the ridge back in Lady Sonora’s Colony. Sol himself claims he had never been captured, and as such has no reason to feel vengeful towards Padre. Padre's awkward, self-serving version of events is easily seen through, but Sol's story is no less implausible.
All along Sol planned not only to kill Padre, but also to pull off a bitcoin robbery in Habitat 1A with his new partners Bishop and "scum-suckin' pig" Jupiter Jackson . Jupiter had used his knowledge of Padre's whereabouts to force his way into the scheme. Plans are sidetracked when Sol falls in love with Padre's beautiful stepdaughter, Coral. Sol takes advantage of a Founder’s Day festival to spend the night with her inside a grain silo. Padre tries to punish Coral for what happened, but after intervention by his wife, Shawnie, he backs down. Still enraged, he traps Sol, ties him up in the middle of the town, and administers a vicious beating with a whip. He then smashes Sol's gun hand with the butt of his scattergun, to make sure Sol will never be able to beat him in a gunfight.
While recovering from his wounds, Sol struggles with his conflicting desires to love the girl and to get revenge on her stepfather. He repeatedly practices shooting with his injured right hand to rehabilitate it. He decides to forgo vengeance, fetch Coral and leave town. However Jupiter has been brewing his own plans. He and a partner kill Bishop and pull off the bitcoin job without Sol's knowledge. The heist goes wrong and a young girl is killed. Sol is accused of committing the crimes by Padre, even though he believes Sol's protestations that he had no involvement. Knowing that the outcome of his trial is certain, Sol expects to be summarily disintegrated in two days. Padre has one last private talk with him, again attempting to absolve himself for all he has done. Sol replies, "Your halo shines bright around here, Padre, but I've seen your face in the dark". Sol tells him he had been imprisoned for the last five years, but Padre calls it a lie.
Coral visits Sol in jail to tell him she is going to have his baby. He is then beaten by sadistic deputy Dor Sorrel, who desires and has been denied Coral's affection. Elsewhere, Shawnie confronts Padre and insists on being told the truth about the relationship between him and Sol, stating she knew something was wrong since the moment Sol arrived. She says she knows Padre is wanting to execute him purely out of guilt. Padre angrily leaves after telling her she has no appreciation for everything he has done for her.
Coral attempts to smuggle a small stun pistol to Sol, but she is discovered by Bobrick, who mocks her and carries her out of the jail, leaving the pistol on a table. While they are out, Sol with great difficulty is able to get hold of the pistol. However it is without a working power source. Pointing the unloaded gun at Bobrick when he returns, Sol bluffs his way out of jail in a tense confrontation. Sol takes Bobrick’s working pistol, beats him unconscious, and locks him in a cell. As Sol is making his escape he is spotted by Padre, driving into town. Under fire, in the final showdown Sol shoots Padre dead.
Sol and Coral slip away to the Off-world Travel Port and say a sentimental farewell. Sol will now be a hunted man no matter where he goes on Io, so he tells Coral that he might go to Earth. He tells her to look for him when the moss rocks turn green, when he will return for her.
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