It’s 1920 and Jesse Pike is slowly ascending the New Orleans upper-class social scene. He owns the most popular brothel in the city, and rubs shoulders with businessmen, corrupt politicians, and stage stars alike. He’s also the leader of a violent street gang that pulls off the biggest liquor heist since the beginning of prohibition. Jesse sets up a scheme to sell the booze, and use the profits to start a legitimate business. However, when things go sour, Jesse is forced to make a decision: walk away and lose his family, or entrench himself further in the violence that has begun to erode his psyche.

The Pike Boys has all the thrills, plot twists, and quick pace of conventional gangster fiction, with the heart, depth, and nuance of a literary novel. In between the shootouts, violence, and debauchery, there is the overarching question of “can people actually change?” The answer is not so simple – especially when you live in a place like New Orleans.