Luke Thacker is a drifting hobo in Depression-era America, riding the rails of the nation and surviving by crumbs and hope. Along the way he learns the iconography of transients - the Hobo Code - better than anyone else and deciphers a secret that thrusts him into Athanasia, the middle ground of memories.He learns that Athanasia exists around us, a realm in which the deceased persevere by how they are remembered, and the memories Luke meets will do anything to not ever be forgotten, whether by trickery, violence, or daring.Luke learns, too, that what's remembered yesterday is not always the same as what will be remembered tomorrow, and he sets off to keep alive the memories of those he loves in the way a 'bo does best: telling tales of old legends, and making up new ones alike.Fifty years later, the tall crossbucks of Luke Thacker are repeated by homeless King Shaw, who's struggling to keep Luke's own legend alive and with it, perhaps, his own.'Cause it don't matter if you rob banks with a dead John Dillinger, are hunted over the years by vengeful Earp brothers, or go against the monstrous railroad guard, Smith McCain: When a story is told, all who are part of it become a little stronger.### Blurbs: ### and "Rich, strange, and wonderful, as if Stephen King and Ray Bradbury were sitting together weaving a tale over a camp fire. So good I didn't want it to end. and " - Michael Marshall Smith, NY Times-bestselling author (SPARES; THE ANOMALY; THE STRAW MEN trilogy) and "...This is a ride worth hopping, and it will take you somewhere you really haven't been. and " - Glen Hirshberg, Shirley Jackson and International Horror Guild Award-winning author, Motherless Children Trilogy and "...A long, hard look into the heart of the myth of America. With this, his first novel, Eric J. Guignard has crafted an extraordinary tale that will haunt readers long after they finish it. and " - Six-time Brad Stoker Award-winning author Lisa Morton