Merle Briggs is a Southern redneck. He fights against the terrorist cult, the Project at Eden's Gate, led by Joseph Seed and his 3 siblings (or Heralds, who are Jacob, John and Faith) in Hope County, Montana, United States. Merle knew that the cult was bad news when it first arrived to Hope County, even when others didn't believe it. He had a bad feeling about Joseph, Eden's Gate, and Joseph's siblings when they came to Hope County, and, now with everything the cult is doing, Merle was right.