Before his trip to the stars, before the Rocinante, Timmy was confined to a Baltimore where crime paid you or killed you. Unless the authorities got to you first.

On a future Earth beset by overpopulation, pollution, and poverty, people do what they must to survive. The Churn follows a crime boss named Burton as his organization is threatened by a new private security force tasked with cleaning up the city. When the police start cracking down, Burton and his footsoldiers-loyal lieutenant Erich, former prostitute Lydia, and young enforcer Timmy-become increasingly desperate to find a way out.