A handful of men and women struggle to survive in the dark aftermath of a devastating war fought decades ago, battling disease, hunger, fear and brutality. Gordon Krantz is one such man, an itinerant story-teller. After being robbed of his few goods, he takes the jacket and bag of a long-dead postal worker and in the next village he visits, finds that the old uniform still has power as a symbol of hope, for the return of an age long gone. Unwilling to disillusion the villagers, he accepts their letters to loved ones who may or may not still live, and in doing so creates his greatest tale – that of an America on the road to recovery. His deception takes on a reality of its own as others come to join him, supported by the strength of a vision he himself only half-believed. Cover art variant by Tom Hallman.