Publisher's Synopsis
It is during the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 that seven-year-old Thomas Moran finds himself accidentally embarking on a career in pickpocketing. In the years that follow he becomes a master of his dubious craft and grows to manhood traveling from state to state across America. Gangsters, con-artists, corrupt clergy and speak-easy bootleggers all have a part to play in Tommy's destiny, but it is Effie, the great love of his life, that offers him the chance to change his future.
