Violet McNeal ran away from her family's rural Minnesota farm in the late 1880s and fell under the spell of conman and patent medicine 'doctor' Will Archimbauld, who hooked her on opium and promises of fame and fortune. Violet soon learned to become Princess Lotus Blossom, and was the best pitchman, nostrum seller, and conwoman to roam the west in a torch-lit wagon. Four White Horses and A Brass Band is her story of life on the road with the medicine show, and reveals the secrets of the conman's trade.