Stealing, Shannon Bateman learns, is bad for one's health. As an Illinois cavalry officer during the Civil War, he purloins a fortune in gold, then struggles almost thirty years to elude its "rightful owners." The treasure remains cleverly hidden while both sides employ guile, murder, and mordant humor. Dickensian characters appear, disappear, and rematerialize in various guises. Disconsolate after his wife dies, "Shan" abandons his daughter and thriving...