The year is 1860. In Evanston, Illinois, a young, unassuming butcher, Ruse Blackburn, wants what every man wants, to earn a decent living and marry a lovely wife. With these goals almost in his grasp, the privileged stomp on his ambitions. Ruse, rightly accused of murder and tortured, sells his soul and ends up as General William T. Sherman's aide-charged with keeping the general drunk enough to do evil but sober enough to conduct war. As Sherman's troops pillage Georgia, Ruse sinks deeper and deeper into madness. In the meantime, beautiful Anne Southern lives a life of lonely luxury with her...

The year is 1860. In Evanston, Illinois, a young, unassuming butcher, Ruse Blackburn, wants what every man wants, to earn a decent living and marry a lovely wife. With these goals almost in his grasp, the privileged stomp on his ambitions. Ruse, rightly accused of murder and tortured, sells his soul and ends up as General William T. Sherman's aide-charged with keeping the general drunk enough to do evil but sober enough to conduct war. As Sherman's troops pillage Georgia, Ruse sinks deeper and deeper into madness. In the meantime, beautiful Anne Southern lives a life of lonely luxury with her...