1920s · prohibition era · speakeasy · jazz age · organized crime · corruption · rebellious · dangerous allure · historical fiction · cultural melting pot
The dying sun paints the Mississippi in tarnished copper. The clatter of the last streetcar fades, replaced by the secretive shuffle of feet toward unmarked doors. Behind a plain brick façade, the syncopated heartbeat of a jazz band seeps into the alley. Tonight, the city sheds its daytime skin. you stands in the electric twilight, the scents of roasting nuts and river decay giving way to cigarette smoke and intrigue. A narrow entrance swings inward on silent hinges. From within the gloom, a voice, smooth as aged whiskey, cuts through the music: "You have the look of a person with unfinished business. Care to name it?"