In reality, the long and storied history of Chicago includes the great taxicab wars between Yelloevcabs and checker cabs of 1920 and 1921, which included shootings, bombings, and all out street battles that rocked the city. Kalteis brings these legendary wars to life through the fictional character of Huckabee Waller, who left New Orleans in a hurry after a barroom disagreement over whether merely talking to a lady required paying for her time, a disagreement resulting in the death on the barroom floor of one well-connected pimp. Hopping trains brings young Huck to the railyards of Chicago where he earns some money in boxing matches, ones where he was supposed to take a dive and refused. From there, he goes on to ferrying booze from Canada during prohibition and offers security services to Yellow which was feeling the brunt of attacks from Checkered.

Huck is in the middle of mob wars between bootleggers and the ensuing and ever expanding hijinks of the taxi wars. Tough nut that he is, Huck is humanized by his romance with a dime a dance girl, who wants him to make an honest living. But with the Capones involved, Huck gets word that the only way out of the wars is in a six-foot wooden box. One side will never accept his quitting and the other wants vengeance, pure and simple.

This rich thick novel is filled with action, some defying credulity, some simply bare knuckles brawling. If you have any interest in the gangster wars of 1920’s Chicago, this novel is something special.