A young boy named Riddley Walker lives in Inland, the name given to the south of England 2,000 years after a nuclear war destroyed human society. Riddley and his community speak in a broken, phonetic version of English in a society which rarely writes anything down. On his 12th birthday, Riddley kills the last boar in the area. He feels odd about the hunt and spots a pack of wild dogs following his group, led by a large black-and-red spotted dog. He helps carry the boar home, passing the charcoal burners who gather wood to melt down the metal objects which are found in post-apocalyptic England. The charcoal burners are considered odd and separate from the rest of the rudimentary society.

Riddley tells a story titled “Hart of the Wood” (10). After the nuclear war, now known as the “Bad Time” (10), a man and his family wander through the woods without weapons or tools. The starving family meet a strange man who knows how to make a fire. In exchange, he demands that they share whatever they cook. The man and woman realize that the only thing to cook is their young child. They agree to the demand, reasoning that two lives saved is better than three lost.