One Battle After Another 2025

Breakout and public shaming

Pat Calhoun and Perfidia orchestrate a daring breakout of detained immigrants in California. Perfidia publicly shames the detention center's commanding officer, Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, who becomes both enthralled and unsettled by her audacity. This fallout seeds the personal bond that fuels the French 75's early actions.

The French 75 escalates its campaign

Pat and Perfidia's bond grows as the French 75 launches a wave of high-stakes actions against politicians' offices, banks, and even critical infrastructure like the power grid. The group's audacious attacks pull more supporters into their cause and put them on a collision course with the authorities. Tensions rise as the power of the movement expands.

Perfidia's bombing and release

Perfidia is caught planting a bomb, and Lockjaw negotiates her release in exchange for a private moment at a motel. The encounter binds them more personally than politically, revealing a complicated dynamic between lawman and revolutionary. The immediate aftermath leads to a pivotal turning point for both.

Charlene's birth

Perfidia gives birth to Charlene, cementing Pat and Perfidia's complicated future. The childbirth marks a literal consequence of their revolutionary life and deepens Pat's resolve to protect their child. The moment also foreshadows the divergent paths they will later take.

Perfidia departs to continue the struggle

Pat is left to guard Charlene as Perfidia returns to the front lines of the revolutionary movement. The couple's dream of a conventional life dissolves as Perfidia resumes armed resistance. Pat and Charlene must endure a life hidden from the world.

Sixteen years later: Bob and Willa in Baktan Cross

In the sanctuary city of Baktan Cross, Bob has become a cautious, paranoid drug addict who still fights to shield his daughter Willa from a world that keeps pulling at their past. Willa, a bright and spirited teen, has learned to navigate hardship with resilience. Their fragile bond anchors a new front in the old conflict.

Lockjaw's rise in a white-supremacist faction

Col. Lockjaw ascends within a white-supremacist faction and is invited to join the Christmas Adventurers Club. To secure control, he hires Avanti Q, an Indigenous bounty hunter, and maneuvers Bob's ally Howard Sommerville into a tense setup that awakens the remnants of the French 75. The stage is set for a dangerous convergence of old and new resistance.

Deandra rescues Willa before the school raid

Deandra, a trusted member of the French 75, rescues Willa just before a raid on her school, underscoring how the old resistance threads into the younger generation. The rescue highlights the delicate ties between past and present actors. It also raises the stakes for the family's safety moving forward.

Bob's home raid and tunnel escape

Lockjaw's troops descend on Bob's home, forcing him to flee through a concealed tunnel. He seeks Sergio St. Carlos, a karate teacher and community leader, who helps evacuate a stream of immigrants through another hidden passage. The pursuit carries through rooftops as Sergio fights to keep them safe.

Sergio coordinates Bob's rescue

Sergio orchestrates efforts to free Bob, coordinating a plan to move the remaining immigrants toward safety. The operation uses quiet routes and local networks, highlighting the community's resilience in the face of state pressure. The tension builds as authorities close in.

Convoy toward the convent and Bob's escape attempt

A dramatic convoy heads toward the convent where Willa has found shelter; Bob's escape from custody appears, but a police stop redirects the plan. He hot-wires a second car and makes a direct push toward the convent, but the path remains perilous. This sequence threads together the threads of families and factions in crisis.

Convent raid: paternity revealed and Avanti's sacrifice

In the convent's crucible, Willa learns a harsh truth about her mother and discovers Lockjaw is her father, a revelation that unsettles the Adventurers Club. A last-ditch operative moves to finish both him and Willa, and Avanti sacrifices himself to buy time for the younger resistance to react. The raid intensifies the conflict and forces decisive choices.

Avanti's sacrifice and the escape aftermath

Avanti frees Willa but dies fighting off the attacking mercenaries, while Willa seizes Avanti's car and weapon and escapes. Tim Smith, a relentless hunter, is closing in as she uses a counter-sign to lure him into a fatal crash. The reunion with Bob feels near as chaos unfurls around them.