Daniel Woodrell's shattering coming-of-age novel brilliantly captures the lawless universe of war as seen through the eyes of a young secessionist.

The 1860s: While the great battles of the Civil War rage in the East, Jayhawkers and bushwhackers wage their own vicious heartland war, savaging all in their wake without conscience or pity. Where the First Kansas Irregulars ride, no one is safe.

At sixteen, Jake Roedel joins this piratical band, and partakes in brutality excused in the name of retribution. But as friends fall and families flee, he questions his loyalties. Against a horrific backdrop -- Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas -- Jake puts himself in the path of his own comrades, becoming an outsider even to those who have become outlaws.