From the dawn of civilization, wealth has been measured in gold. But why? It's cumbersome, too soft for weapons, and has no practical applications, yet humanity is compelled to accumulate it. What if that compulsion was directed by an eldritch intelligence whose origins reach beyond the stars? These are the questions that haunt Samuel Sheldon in 1863, as he is adopted into the Trust, a gold-obsessed cabal, descendant from The Skull and Bones, Illuminati, and centuries of alchemical cults. The price of these secrets is the total immersion of his soul into an ancient conflict that blurs the lines between good and evil. This all-or-nothing decision begins a supernatural odyssey from the bloody hellscapes of the Civil War to the war-torn and lawless expanses of Mexico to recover a cursed trove of gold. Sheldon's path is crooked, beset by treachery, and dogged by an ambiguous dread that the very forces he serves may be working against him. To succeed, he must contend with the Mexican Empire, face the wrath of Chief Victorio and the Chiricahua, and escape a powerful bandit queen who worships death itself. But even then, will the final secret of the Trust be worth the price?