1863: during the American Civil War, the inhabitantsof New Fraternity, Indiana, find themselves far from the front lines of theconflict embroiling the United States but still constantly under threat from it;food is scarce, deserters come to seek asylum, and a mysterious feral beast thatwalks on two legs prowls the forest around the town. The beast seems to havesome connection to Emile, a feral child found a few years earlier who had beentaken in by...