Maturity comes fast and furious when you are looking down the barrel of a Thompson submachine gun.

For sixteen-year-old "T'Eddie" Leymoine, a summer spent with an enterprising, gun-running uncle has no shortage of hair-raising lessons. Ventures with Uncle George in Louisiana bayou country expose the boy to alligator poaching, cock fighting, and the art of deceiving the authorities. The ribald antics favored by George involve houses of ill repute and encounters with a young freelance miss. And then there's LaBelle, a local girl whose intentions make T'Eddie's summer even crazier.

George's line of business isn't popular with everyone. Close-minded custom collectors and hired assassins complicate things for George and his nephew, and flaming shootouts have a way of breaking out. But the real trouble begins when George messes with a smuggler. The consequences could be lethal unless T'Eddie steps up and finds a way to save his uncle.

The third in a series of stories by Francis P. Trudell, this reckless ride through the bayous around Barataria Bay brings the Prohibition era of feigned innocence and convenient morals back to life as a boy learns about the ways of men during one sweltering summer.

Following the loss of his lucrative oil-industry job, Ace Mulligan quickly learns that available work within the confines of the law doesn't readily meet his financial requirements. He decides to turn his many talents toward jobs beyond conventional legal parameters, beginning with the heist of a gold coin collection worth half a million dollars. In his new line of work, Ace is quite busy with arson, oilfield theft, international money laundering, prostitution, drug smuggling, and espionage. He steals from the Mafioso and narrowly escapes murder attempts. When he is kidnapped and put into a mental institution, Ace is beaten and interrogated for information about his business cohorts. Ace amasses considerable wealth and a host of enemies, including a corrupt district attorney, an IRS fraud investigator, and a British Scotland Yard inspector. He enjoys female companionship with a redheaded prostitute, a seamstress of considerable talent, a Swiss banker, and a member of the Houston vice squad who is anxious to lead him to the altar. Among the many eccentric characters along his journey, Ace must discern who he can successfully deceive-and who may just be deceiving him.

Maturity comes fast and furious when you are looking down the barrel of a Thompson submachine gun.

For sixteen-year-old "T'Eddie" Leymoine, a summer spent with an enterprising, gun-running uncle has no shortage of hair-raising lessons. Ventures with Uncle George in Louisiana bayou country expose the boy to alligator poaching, cock fighting, and the art of deceiving the authorities. The ribald antics favored by George involve houses of ill repute and encounters with a young freelance miss. And then there's LaBelle, a local girl whose intentions make T'Eddie's summer even crazier.

George's line of business isn't popular with everyone. Close-minded custom collectors and hired assassins complicate things for George and his nephew, and flaming shootouts have a way of breaking out. But the real trouble begins when George messes with a smuggler. The consequences could be lethal unless T'Eddie steps up and finds a way to save his uncle.

The third in a series of stories by Francis P. Trudell, this reckless ride through the bayous around Barataria Bay brings the Prohibition era of feigned innocence and convenient morals back to life as a boy learns about the ways of men during one sweltering summer.

Following the loss of his lucrative oil-industry job, Ace Mulligan quickly learns that available work within the confines of the law doesn't readily meet his financial requirements. He decides to turn his many talents toward jobs beyond conventional legal parameters, beginning with the heist of a gold coin collection worth half a million dollars. In his new line of work, Ace is quite busy with arson, oilfield theft, international money laundering, prostitution, drug smuggling, and espionage. He steals from the Mafioso and narrowly escapes murder attempts. When he is kidnapped and put into a mental institution, Ace is beaten and interrogated for information about his business cohorts. Ace amasses considerable wealth and a host of enemies, including a corrupt district attorney, an IRS fraud investigator, and a British Scotland Yard inspector. He enjoys female companionship with a redheaded prostitute, a seamstress of considerable talent, a Swiss banker, and a member of the Houston vice squad who is anxious to lead him to the altar. Among the many eccentric characters along his journey, Ace must discern who he can successfully deceive-and who may just be deceiving him.