The full story

In this chapterA ferry heist in Blackwater goes wrong in 1899; the gang flees and leaves its money stash behind.

The story opens in 1899, just after a ferry heist in Blackwater has gone badly wrong. The gang leaves its money stash behind and flees into the mountains, where a blizzard forces it to shelter in Colter, an abandoned mining town. Arthur Morgan rides out with Javier to find John Marston, who went missing in the snow, and brings him back.

Needing money, the gang raids an O'Driscoll camp to learn about a train job the rival gang was planning. Sadie Adler joins the gang during these days. With the O'Driscolls' plans and explosives, the gang robs the private train of oil magnate Leviticus Cornwall.

Cornwall answers by hiring the Pinkertons to hunt the gang down. When the weather clears, the gang rides down from the mountains and sets up camp at Horseshoe Overlook.

Red Dead Redemption 2 begins in 1899 with the Van der Linde gang already on the run. A ferry heist in Blackwater has gone wrong, and the gang has had to abandon its money and ride into a blizzard. From here on, Dutch van der Linde's plan sounds simple: raise enough money to escape the law for good and retire somewhere far away.

Half frozen, the gang takes shelter in Colter, an abandoned mining town. Arthur Morgan, the gang's veteran enforcer, rides out into the snow with Javier to look for John Marston, who never came back from scouting, and brings him back to camp.

The gang then raids a camp of the O'Driscolls, its old rivals, to find out about a train robbery they were planning. Sadie Adler joins the Van der Linde gang in this period; she will become one of its toughest gunslingers.

Using the O'Driscolls' own plans and explosives, the gang robs the private train of Leviticus Cornwall, an oil magnate. It is the first real score since Blackwater, and it comes at a price: Cornwall hires the Pinkertons, and the detective agency becomes the gang's main enemy for the rest of the story. Once the weather improves, the gang leaves the mountains and sets up a new camp at Horseshoe Overlook.

In this chapterAfter trouble in Valentine, Dutch decides the gang must lie low, and it moves south to Clemens Point near Rhodes.

The gang settles at Horseshoe Overlook, close to the town of Valentine. Short on money, its members look for leads in town and get by on robberies and debt collection. The Pinkertons hired by Cornwall are still after them.

Trouble in Valentine eventually makes the area too risky, and Dutch decides the gang has to lie low. The camp moves south, to Clemens Point near the town of Rhodes.

Chapter 2 is the gang's calmest stretch, and the one where most players get to know the camp. From Horseshoe Overlook, close to Valentine, the gang tries to rebuild its finances: some members go into town looking for leads, while Arthur takes on robberies and debt collection. The Pinkertons hired by Cornwall are still looking for them, and the gang knows it cannot stay in one place for long.

The chapter ends with trouble in Valentine that makes staying too dangerous. Dutch decides the gang must lie low, and the whole camp moves south to Clemens Point, near the town of Rhodes.

Horseshoe Overlook is where Dutch's ideal is easiest to believe because camp life still contains ordinary affection, jokes, chores and plans that are not yet dominated by escape. Arthur's work reveals the contradiction underneath that warmth. Debt collection turns the gang's language of freedom into pressure applied to poorer families, while Cornwall's response shows that robbing powerful interests brings industrial power rather than romantic pursuit. The chapter's openness is therefore fragile. Players can inhabit the community Arthur will later try to save while watching the habits that make its promised fresh start impossible.

In this chapterThe Braithwaites kidnap Jack Marston and sell him to Angelo Bronte, a crime boss in Saint Denis.

Near Rhodes, two powerful families, the Grays and the Braithwaites, are feuding. Dutch tries to play them against each other, and both families end up betraying the gang. A meeting with the Grays in Rhodes turns into an ambush, and Sean MacGuire is killed.

The Braithwaites then kidnap John's son, Jack, and sell him to Angelo Bronte, a crime boss in Saint Denis. The gang attacks Braithwaite Manor, kills the family and burns the house. Arthur and John clear Shady Belle of Lemoyne Raiders, and the gang moves there, within reach of Saint Denis.

Rhodes sits in the middle of an old feud between the Gray and Braithwaite families. Dutch sees an opportunity and decides to play them against each other, hoping to profit from the fighting. The plan collapses. Arthur, Micah, Bill and Sean go to meet some of the Gray boys in Rhodes to talk about a job, and the meeting turns into an ambush in which Sean MacGuire is killed.

The Braithwaites strike next: they kidnap Jack, John and Abigail's son. Suspecting Catherine Braithwaite, Dutch leads the gang to Braithwaite Manor. The family is wiped out and the house burned, but Jack is not there. He has been sold to Angelo Bronte, a crime boss in Saint Denis.

With both families gone and the Pinkertons still close, the gang needs a new base. Arthur and John clear Shady Belle of the Lemoyne Raiders, and the camp moves there, within reach of Saint Denis.

In this chapterTo fund the escape abroad, the gang robs the bank of Saint Denis.

Dutch and Arthur go looking for Angelo Bronte in Saint Denis. Bronte agrees to return Jack in exchange for a job, and Jack comes home. Bronte's next tip, about money at a trolley station, is a setup.

The gang raids Bronte's mansion, and Dutch kills Bronte by feeding him to an alligator, which disturbs Arthur and John. To pay for the escape abroad, Dutch goes for one last big job: the bank of Saint Denis. The Pinkertons intervene. Hosea and Lenny are killed and John is arrested.

Arthur, Dutch and the other survivors escape on a ship bound for Cuba. Chapter 4 moves the story to Saint Denis, where Dutch and Arthur go asking around for Angelo Bronte, the crime boss who now has Jack.

Bronte agrees to return Jack if the gang does a job for him, and Jack goes back to his parents. But Bronte is no friend: his next tip, about money at a trolley station, turns out to be a setup.

The gang answers by attacking Bronte's mansion from the river. Dutch captures Bronte and feeds him to an alligator. Arthur and John are disturbed; Arthur finds it unlike the Dutch he knows. Dutch now wants one last big score to pay for the gang's escape abroad (Wikipedia names Tahiti as the plan). The target is the bank of Saint Denis.

The robbery goes wrong. The Pinkertons intervene, Hosea, Dutch's oldest friend and co-leader, is killed, Lenny is shot during the escape, and John is arrested. Arthur, Dutch and the survivors get away on a ship bound for Cuba.

In this chapterArthur collapses in Saint Denis and a doctor diagnoses him with tuberculosis.

A storm sinks the ship, and Arthur washes up on Guarma, an island near Cuba. He finds the other survivors, and together they help local revolutionaries fight the plantation owner Fussar in exchange for passage home. Back in Lemoyne, Arthur reunites with the rest of the gang at Lakay, but Agent Milton and the Pinkertons attack the camp.

The gang moves again, this time to Beaver Hollow. Arthur collapses in Saint Denis, and a doctor tells him he has tuberculosis. Dutch refuses to rescue John from prison, so Arthur decides to do it himself.

The escape to Cuba never arrives. A storm breaks the ship apart, and Arthur washes up on Guarma, an island near Cuba, where he starts searching for the others. The island is controlled by a plantation owner named Fussar. The survivors side with the local revolutionaries against him and, in return, get passage back to the United States.

Back home, Arthur finds the rest of the gang hiding at Lakay in the bayou. The reunion does not last: Agent Milton and his Pinkertons attack the camp, and the gang has to move again, to Beaver Hollow.

Then comes the most personal blow of the story. Arthur collapses in the streets of Saint Denis and a doctor diagnoses tuberculosis. At the same time, Dutch refuses to rescue John from prison. Arthur decides to do it on his own, and his loyalty to Dutch starts to crack.

In this chapterArthur and Sadie rescue Abigail from Agent Milton, who reveals that Micah is the Pinkertons' informant before Abigail kills him.

Against Dutch's wishes, Arthur scouts Sisika Penitentiary from a hot air balloon and breaks John out. Dutch grows paranoid about an informant, stops trusting Arthur and makes Micah Bell his top lieutenant. Arthur, now sick, helps the Wapiti chief Rains Fall and his people.

Dutch uses Eagle Flies' attack on Cornwall's oil fields as a distraction, and Eagle Flies is killed. The gang robs an army payroll train; John is shot and left for dead, Abigail is captured, and Dutch cuts them loose. Arthur and Sadie rescue Abigail. Before Abigail kills him, Agent Milton reveals that Micah is the Pinkertons' informant.

Back at camp, Dutch sides with Micah, and Dutch, Bill, Javier and Micah turn on Arthur. John returns alive. As the Pinkertons attack, the player chooses whether Arthur helps John escape or goes back for the gang's money. Micah fights Arthur on the mountain. Dutch arrives but does not back Micah, and leaves.

How Arthur dies depends on his honor: with high honor he dies of his wounds and illness; with low honor Micah kills him. Chapter 6 is the fall of the Van der Linde gang. It opens with Arthur doing what Dutch would not: with help from Sadie's contact, Mr. Bullard, he scouts Sisika Penitentiary from a hot air balloon and gets John out.

Dutch is no longer the man Arthur followed. Convinced there is an informant in the gang, he trusts Arthur less every day and makes Micah Bell his top lieutenant. Arthur, sick with tuberculosis, spends more of his time helping others, including the Wapiti chief Rains Fall, who is trying to negotiate peace with the army.

Dutch sees the Wapiti conflict as cover. When Eagle Flies leads an attack on Cornwall's oil fields, Dutch and the gang ride with him against Rains Fall's wishes, and Eagle Flies is killed. Using that distraction, the gang pulls its final job: robbing an army payroll train.

The robbery ends badly. John is shot and left for dead, Abigail is taken by the Pinkertons, and Dutch cuts them loose. Arthur and Sadie go after Abigail anyway and rescue her from Agent Milton, who reveals before Abigail kills him that Micah has been informing for the Pinkertons.

Arthur returns to Beaver Hollow and confronts Micah. Dutch sides with Micah, and so do Bill and Javier. John, who survived, turns up alive. Then the Pinkertons attack.

Here the game gives the only choice that changes the ending: Arthur either holds off the Pinkertons so John can escape, or goes back to camp for the gang's money. Either way, Arthur ends up facing Micah on the mountain. Dutch arrives but does not back Micah, and walks away. What happens to Arthur next is covered in Ending explained.

In this chapterIn 1907, eight years later, John, Abigail and Jack try to live honest lives and look for work around Strawberry.

The story jumps to 1907, eight years after the gang's collapse, and John Marston becomes the protagonist. John, Abigail and Jack are trying to live honest lives and look for work around the town of Strawberry. This part of the epilogue takes place at Pronghorn Ranch.

John also reconnects with Sadie Adler. The epilogue jumps to 1907, eight years after Arthur's story ends, and hands control to John Marston. John, Abigail and Jack are trying to leave the outlaw life behind. They look for honest work around Strawberry, and this first part of the epilogue plays out at Pronghorn Ranch.

It is a slower, domestic chapter about whether John can become a different man for his family. It also brings back Sadie Adler, who calls on John for bounty hunting work.

Pronghorn Ranch tests whether John's desire to change can survive the humiliation of beginning again. He has the skills to answer every threat with violence, but Abigail needs proof that he can remain present when no gang is giving him orders and no robbery promises a shortcut. Ranch work feels deliberately mundane because Arthur's sacrifice was meant to purchase exactly this possibility. Sadie's bounty work complicates it by offering lawful targets through familiar methods. John is no longer deciding whether he can shoot; he is deciding whether being useful with a gun must continue to define the life his family receives.

In this chapterDutch is with Micah; after a standoff Dutch shoots Micah and leaves in silence, and John kills Micah.

John buys land at Beecher's Hope and builds a ranch house with help from Charles and Uncle. He proposes to Abigail, and they marry. Sadie finds a lead on Micah, and John, Sadie and Charles track him to Mount Hagen.

Dutch is there with Micah. After a tense standoff, Dutch shoots Micah and leaves in silence, and John kills Micah. John takes the gang's old Blackwater money. In the final scenes, Edgar Ross tracks Micah's killer to John's ranch, setting up the first Red Dead Redemption.

John finally gets a home of his own. He buys land at Beecher's Hope and, with Charles and Uncle, builds a ranch house. He also proposes to Abigail, and they marry. The past comes back through Sadie, who finds a lead on Micah. John, Sadie and Charles follow it to Mount Hagen.

Micah is not alone: Dutch is with him. After a tense standoff, Dutch shoots Micah and walks away without a word, and John kills him. John also takes the gang's old Blackwater money, the stash the whole story started with. The last scenes show Edgar Ross, the Pinkerton agent, tracking Micah's killer to John's ranch. That discovery is what sets up the events of the first Red Dead Redemption.