Michael Gunderson comes of age just after WWII ends. He wants nothing more than to leave behind an oppressive life of rural farming to strike out on his own and discover what the alluring world has to offer to men who love other men. Michael's big break arrives when he's offered a porter's job on a troop train with the Pennsylvania Railroad. On the train, Michael's most ribald fantasies become reality when the young porter meets a hedonistic sailor with a fierce hunger in his heart. Excerpt from Troop Train: The dining car rounded a sharp curve, swaying violently. Drinking glasses, cutlery and the thin wire caddy containing the salt and pepper shakers, vibrated and slid across their table, teetering on the edge. With cat-like reflexes, Michael stretched out an arm, averting disaster. Both men went about the business of returning everything to its proper place. Two tables down, fortunate hadn't smiled, as evidenced by the shattering drinking glasses and clattering silverware crashing to the floor. The victims, a rambunctious group of four foul-mouthed sailors, ranted and cursed. A fat waiter with bad teeth and pitted skin sloshed water into their glasses and took their order, grumbling under his breath about useless busboys. Michael and Keith offered him perfunctory nods and smiles. Galumphing over to join two fellow servers, the waiter groaned as he knelt in the floor to assist in clean up of the broken glass. "So," Michael began, shifting his weight to the non-bruised hip, "tell me how you plan to make things up to me." After taking a sip of water, Keith returned his glass to the table, chuckling slightly. "Forgive me if I presume too much, but I've noticed you're like me in many ways . . . the adventurous type with a voracious appetite for sex; although, you seem to have a higher tolerance for taking risks . . . how am I doing so far?" "Dead on, I'd say." "Good . . . because what I'm about to propose involves all of the aforementioned."