Can one mask murder under cover of war? A sudden ferocity brought forth in the Confederate soldier Otis Truitt at the killing of his brother centers this journal-style novella, showing what war can do to a man and igniting within him the age-old battle with self. As he wages this parallel, internal war, we enter his recollection of Stonewall Jackson's Shenandoah Campaign over the summer and fall of '62 and through the winter and spring of '63. Along the way, we hear Otis critique the muzzle-loading rifle, praise the breech-loader and---as he is a sniper himself---expand on the sniper's art and his isolation. Though he was nearly killed and suffered a life-long disability, Otis remains chatty and thoughtful on the page; and internally, at least, his mental battles lead to a discovery allowing him finally to make peace with himself

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