A Tunnel Too Far

Deep under the bustling city, a dirty system of tunnels carries on the commerce of a booming economy. Living in this dark Hades by choice, a prideful young son of immigrants finds that his world is not what it seems to be. Inspired by some of the true facts and urban legends about those tunnels, this story is a tragedy about how we view ourselves and our place in society. The time is the very beginning of the Great Depression, and the place is in and around Chicago of that era. Electric streetcars still dodge horses, wagons and motorcars. The great railroads still operate steam-hauled trains into the city and serve its diverse population via fabled passenger stations. Prohibition is the law of the land, and crooks, criminals, and mobsters of all shapes and sizes are the law of the streets. Frank Cermak is a product of the ethnic neighborhoods, narrowly defined enclaves where narrow minds are common. He sits on the broad shoulders of the city, secure and smug, ready to grab his world by the tail and battle it to submission. The battlegrounds are the tunnels, streets, neighborhoods and canals of the great city, and the warriors are men and women like Frank, themselves caught in the battle without knowing which side they are on. Getting himself too deep into what he considers to be innocent mob activities, Frank is bent to the breaking point. With his stubborn pride ruined, his version of morality shaken, and his prejudices exposed, he must admit his defeat and suffer a horrible disgrace at the hands of cruel and ruthless men. Desperate, Frank struggles to right the world that he had figured all wrong.