Author Description

Red Slusher was the only child of German immigrants, Henri and Anna Slusher. They stepped from a wheeled steamboat at Hermes Landing, Missouri in 1873 with hopes and dreams of beginning a new, good life. Red watched his father struggle to clear the land, plant, and cultivate it only to see the mighty river repeatedly overflow, wiping out most of their crops. With what little they had left, Red's father built a whiskey still, turning the remaining corn into whiskey and sold it to passing steamboats just to get by. The practice continued over the years and Red helped his father expand the business by selling corn whiskey to saloons in nearby towns. After his father's death, Red inherited the family business. But then times changed; the Prohibition started, nationally banning the sale, manufacture or transportation of alcohol for consumption. Red stopped at nothing, even murder, to protect his family and their livelihood.