While armies in the East clash in the great battles of the American Civil War, bands of men seek their own fierce retribution in the heartland. Set in the border states of Kansas and Missouri, Woe to Live On explores the nature of lawlessness and violence, and friendship and loyalty, through the eyes of young recruit Jake Roedel. Where he and his fellow First Kansas Irregulars go, no one is safe, no one can be neutral. Roedel grows up fast, experiencing a brutal parody of war, without standards or mercy. But as friends fall and families flee, he questions his loyalties and becomes an outsider even to those who have turned outlaw.