Last Twelve Miles: A Novel

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Set against the Prohibition Rum Wars, this gripping tale brings to life two real women on opposite sides of the law in a deadly game of cat and mouse. In 1926 Washington, D.C., the Coast Guard is struggling in the Prohibition Rum War but has a secret weapon: Elizebeth Smith Friedman, a brilliant cryptanalyst and devoted wife and mother. Meanwhile, in the Bahamas, Cleo Lythogoe, known as The Bahama Queen, announces her retirement while sharing thrilling tales of her past. Marie Waite, eager to take her place, devises a plan to ascend as rumrunner royalty and secure her family's financial future. However, as her operation becomes more sophisticated, she attracts the attention of federal agents. Elizebeth, the only codebreaker tackling numerous smugglers, faces mounting pressure from her work, which becomes increasingly personal when she realizes her main adversary is Marie Waite. From the glamorous world of D.C. Intelligence to the sultry shores of Florida, this story is based on the true events of two women masterminds locked in a high-stakes battle of wits, revealing the complexities of ambition, crime, and the fight for survival during a tumultuous era.