This is the tale of Jeremiah Bentonville, a former flimflam man turned undertaker, and his apprentice, Noah Johnson, contracted by both the Union and Confederate armies to box up their dead. What does it matter if Jeremiah inflates the casualties a little bit? As he says, "The living don't notice the dead. They'll take our word for it." Taking his apprentice under his wing, Jeremiah trains Noah in the art of creating lots of something out of nothing. Everything is moving along swimmingly until Noah discovers a locket with a lewd photo and a beautiful widow arrives in search of her dead husband's body. As Noah conducts his own business with the widow, Jeremiah's suspicions grow. He, more than anyone, should know an illusion when he sees it. Then, the North informs Jeremiah that they suspect he is cheating them. However, they won't hang him, provided he can prove his numbers - by tomorrow morning at dawn.

Written during the first Gulf War, Noah Johnson. . .'s themes of war, race, and profiteering still resonate today, during the second Gulf War.