THE OFFAL BOY is an adventure story about two misfits-turned-friends during the bloody Wars of Religion in 16th century France. Nonny, the "offal boy," is the garbage collector in his village; David is the epileptic son of the village rope maker. Through trickery, guile, deception, and disguise, these reviled outcasts romp through the underbelly of French life, trading in sheep dung and horse carcasses yet discovering valuable secrets from everyone from the local apothecary to Queen Catherine de' Medici herself. The climax of their adventures occurs during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre, one of France's bloodiest days.