A historical novel, LOOK OUT THE CANDYMAN is set in Monterey, California, in 1974.
Coming out of a short Army stint having successfully avoided ‘Nam, twenty-two-year-old Mark, a gifted rock musician, has ambitions of making it big. He needs just two things for his life to be complete: a band to play with, and Gail, an old flame and the girl of his dreams. When they reconnect, Mark’s amazed to find the overachieving Stanford dropout is dealing weed. As they rekindle their romance, Mark learns Gail’s got big plans for her weed business, and he excitedly goes along for the ride.
The two face mounting threats from robbers, hitmen, and Gail’s own father—an assistant district attorney. Yet the biggest threat to the life they’re building is Gail herself. As their business grows and pressures build, Gail’s drinking gets out of control. The night of their biggest deal ever, Gail goes on a bender that threatens everything they’ve built and their relationship reaches a breaking point. Mark finds himself in desperate straits: either convince her to stop drinking, or walk away from the woman he loves and the business they built.
LOOK OUT THE CANDYMAN explores the limits of love and ambition against the backdrop of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n roll. With a gritty underworld reminiscent to She Rides Shotgun, by Jordan Harper, and settings akin to Daisy Jones and the Six, it vividly captures the charged, turbulent atmosphere of the mid-seventies.