The Return to Key Largo

A naval fighter pilot returns to the family home in Key Largo after five years in a Vietnam POW camp. As he attempts to restart his life and begins work in the family owned fishing and lobster business: financial problems, a slow lobster season, and a large hurricane bearing down on the Island are just the beginning. A plea for help from his best friend since childhood results in danger from involvement with a drug cartel, high speed smugging runs over stormy seas in the late night darkness and then, there is that mysterious Asian exiotic dancer from Hong Kong.
These are just a few of the elements coming into play as he struggles to walk an honorable path and to win the heart of a beautiful schoolteacher he has met. Several suprise twist await the reader as this story winds its way through the tropical landscapes, coral reefs and unique animal and sea life of the Florida Keys.
A short prologue at the beginning of each chapter flashes back to some of his thoughts and experiences as a POW after his F-4 Phantom is brought down by a North Vietnamese Missle.

R.M. Miller (Ray) grew up in a small coastal Florida town, working summers on the Charter Fishing boats. Marlin and other exotic fi sh were caught on warm sunny days along with heavy squalls, boats taking water, or mechanical failures, and dealing with the occasional hurricane. As a young adult in colledge entered the navys' fl ight program and pilot training. After several months in a naval hospital and a discharge, he returned to his hometown, married his childhood sweetheart, and started a business building high-horse power engines for performance boats. Recruited by a Miami fi rm to work in Key Largo during the mid seventies, the hey-day of drug smuggling there, worked on both marine patrol boats and drug runners vessels while soaking up the colorful lore of that era. Growing Older, R.M. Miller decided to incorporate those experiences into this story. He still operates a custom boat shop in Panama City Beach, Florida and hopes everyone will enjoy the book.