The Gunslinger is the story of the title character, Roland Deschain, who is a desperado chasing a man in black across a desert. Few details of Roland's life are revealed, but the post-apocalyptic world around him is gradually fleshed out through his adventures. He pursues his mark without pity, making friends and abandoning them as needed in order to come closer to his quarry. The novel's tone is bleak and spare, wasting little time on excessive wordplay.