A man named August is from Capillia, a sprawling city located on an island of the same name. To alleviate the city's problems of unemployment and garbage, city planners built a walled compound in the middle of the city called Nling, into which the oppressed outcasts, garbage and alcohol were thrown. The alcohol was to keep the outcasts pacified. One day, the garbage and alcohol stopped arriving, which led to the deaths of many of the outcasts. August is one of those still surviving outcasts, he who is alone in Nling with his sole friend, Donkey who was once a great Capillian professor. August fears he too will die without more alcohol. August and Donkey try to escape the walls of Nling. They don't find quite what they expect and have to decide how best to survive in their new environment. August in particular has to figure out if his quest for alcohol is worth his immortal soul.