Well that was epic. A great puzzle of a story where you collect the pieces along the way. This is partly a story about cons: from religious leaders to cult leaders to occultists to insurance adjusters! It also felt like a skeptic’s way of understanding this world of cons as well as the actual mysteries that sometimes inspire them. Why are people so eager to believe? Why is human nature such that we’re all such easy marks? Besides this, we’ve got a great road trip story, a walk across America and its strip malls and industrial plants. And we’ve got great characters and even a bit of romance. Mainly it’s a tribute to the dead — to those we have lost. And the hope (however futile) that we might see them again.